INTO THE NIGHT

I really liked the debut album of this Polish band which was closer to symphonic than neo-prog, but their second release was behind my expectations. So, it was with a mixed bag feeling that I received their third opus.

The sound here is much heavier and less melodic. This is another change of musical orientation. Fair enough as far as diversity is concerned, but it is difficult for the fan to embrace these three efforts. They were much more impressive in their early days, IMHHO. Even the epic "Dreams" can't really thrill me.

Vocals sound close to Ray Wilson's ones on "Calling All Stations", but if you exclude a short and fine guitar break, there is little I will retain from this long song (almost fourteen minutes). It is close to prog metal IMO, even if the last third features some great and symphonic parts.

But this is just a short break into these almost metal sounds ("Downtown Skyline"). I didn't expect this musical change, but as I have already outlined in some other reviews, it seems that lots of bands were incorporating these harder elements because of the market's demand. But I don't belong to this tendency.

I'm more on the side of "Don't Go Away In Silence" which could have been featured on their debut: a jewel of a melody with a superb guitar work and subtle piano lines. I only wished to have more songs of this calibre on "Into The Night"!

My opinion is that this album is average. I will upgrade it to three stars.