DYSTONIA

CEREUS is another promising heavy prog and metal bordering outfit hailing from Poland. The quintet delivers very melodic rock songs in the vein of fellow countrymen Riverside, Abstrakt, Art Of Illusion, Hellhaven. The concept behind - highly philosophical - outlines a tale which deals with the search for a place in space and time as well as the reason to exist. Well, attention, the album title stands for a movement disorder syndrome, but luckily this does not affect the execution music-wise. First of all they have singer Michal Dabrowski aboard, equipped with a good voice.

Furthermore Pawel Sikora's riffing and soaring guitars are all around, this featuring a significant post touch. Punchy bass and drums are generating a proper drive in the end. Plus the marked preference for spoken words in French language this all fits quite well. Above all though the compositions are definitely catchy. In any case they are offering a cultivated chain of song pearls, missing any filler over the course of more than 60 minutes. Hence they are on a relatively safe ground with the sound overall. Good album. Anyhow, here and there I wished to experience some edges and surprises.

Cereus are yet another Polish progressive band who have obviously been highly influenced by their countrymen Riverside (but have also been paying attention to Disturbed, a name I never thought I would put into a progressive rock review!). This is their debut album, released in 2018, following on from three EP's. All vocals are in clear unaccented English, but it certainly seems strange that the spoken word sections are in French!! Michał Dąbrowski has a great voice, and the band put him front and centre, with plenty of space around him so he can really shine. Porcupine Tree are also again an influence, while I am sure I can also hear some Collage but given their impact on the Polish scene 20 years ago that really isn't a surprise.

I have been fortunate enough to hear a great many Polish progressive bands over the years, and now that Cereus have finally produced an album let's hope they continue pushing as this is incredibly solid and well worth investigating.