ABRAXAS

I just stated in my previous review that Prophecies is in fact not even the best output by Abraxas even though it's a great album. That honour is for this debut by the band from 1996, the one with the unpronounceable (for non-Polish people) title I usually refer to as Cykl. This one is often regarded as one of the standout neo progressive albums and I can only agree with this.

The album kicks off with a nice guitar dominated short track to warm things up apparently. Next is one of the longer songs, Tarot, the first with vocals which are sung in Polish so I don't have the slightest idea what it's about. The vocals are good, sometimes theatrical sometimes drenched with emotions. Tarot is more a vocal than an instrumental track which is a pity for an instrumental devotee like me, still a good song though. Dorian Gray shows the rough side of Abraxas that is a versatile band where style is concerned. This one goes towards heavy prog or even prog metal. Kameleon is one of the more average songs, good but actually drowning in this pool of great music, it simply doesn't stand out. Expressive vocals once again. Alhambra sets in with beautiful flute, after one and a half minute moving in a typical "Shadowland-like" rhythm (I was actually expecting Clive Nolan to start singing but no it was mr. Lassa anyway). Interesting song where the compositional aspect is concerned. Notice the piano part halfway the song for instance. Next song, Inferno, is again a very vocal track though there is also room for the guitar here. Ajudah appeals a bit less to me mainly caused by unpleasant vocals. In De Profundis these get better again albeit that also here vocals are very dominant. Highlight to me is Tabula Rasa, you could say the Pokuszenie of this album. The longest song and also the most interesting of this album. And most of all the moments of sheer beauty, in the end the feature most significant to me of Abraxas.

It strikes me that this album is actually hardly true neo. Neo progressive prog rock is more straightforward with at least 80-90% emphasis on catchy melodies. These melodies are truly present on this album, no doubt, but there are also quite a lot general progressive and even original elements present in the music of Abraxas. I also noticed this on Prophecies but it certainly is also the case on this debut. A marvelous album, highly recommended to all neo minded proggers and worth exploring by any proghead. 4 stars (4,25).

Abraxas is one of an interesting line-up of Polish neo progressive bands. The one they come closest to in my opinion is Believe, a band that appeared on the scene after the break up of Collage. I feel both bands are somewhat less romantic sounding than Collage, Satellite, Albion and Quidam and both have a rougher edge on their music at times. Biggest difference with Believe is the more frequently appearing guitar solos by Abraxas. But there is one thing all these Polish bands have in common and that is the highly melodic element in their music.

In fact Abraxas is a versatile band because they mix all kinds of emotions in the music, they play ballads (Velvet) just as easily as pretty heavy tracks (Kuznia). Like Quidam they can play flute in a beautiful way (Excalibur !) and even the oboe is used. This album has songs in all sorts also where length is concerned (just about everything in between 1 and 12 minutes) and almost all songs are worthwhile. Highlight is probably Pokuszenie where beautiful passages are alternated with progressive moments, here the band really shows what they are capable of.

This makes the choice for the rating pretty easy this time. Four stars is the only logical outcome even though this isn't even their best album (3,8).

01. 14/06/1999

Introduction full of voices, but since the band is Polish, all the vocals are so different and also extremely interesting. What follows is an instrumental and discharged with a certain weight. The band (as you would expect) draws on the Neo-Prog, the one that always has cold keyboards and sounds that seems comes out directly from 80's, but here the thing is not so exaggerated. The voice of Adam Lassa is very good, sometimes melodic sometimes torn, when accompanied by weight of the band.

02. Czekam

Marcin Blaszczyk opens the track with an organ, one of those that was bequeathed by Peter Banks (Genesis), school of 9 out of 10 Neo Progressive bands. Followed by the keyboards a constant 'beep' as one of those hospital machines that measure the heartbeat of the person until he check only feature. And ends with a short speech.

03. Jezebel

The drums of Mikolaj Matyska takes shape and contour in the introduction of the 3rd track, closely followed by the grave bass of Rafal Ratajczak showing sometimes some 'slap' bass lines. Vocals are quite beautiful, the Polish language (not sure if it's some dialect) as strange as it may sound, makes things even more beautiful to me. After the half's paraded a fretless bass solo that if I am not mistaken is the guest Krzysztof ?cierañski and is a sensational solo.

04. Szaleństwo przyszło Noca

Only a spoken intersection, but which has yours strength.

05. Spowiedz

The melody of the guitar riff is constant and the drums here is cool, simple and functional. The female vocals are heard for the first time on this album at this moment, as if they had a story to tell but I'm not entirely sure if they do. Beautiful guitar riffs.

06. Anatema, Czyli Moje Obsesja

This intro is totally Pink Floyd, guitar and keyboard perfectly alike, Wish You Were Here (the album) made school, you know. The guitars full of harmonics and somehow very heavy. By the half of the song the band comes in in a melodious and beautiful melody full of details of keyboards and synthesizers.

07. Pętla Medialna

Almost an 'industral' sound, electronic rhythm and synthesizers, mark the beginning of the song. Is like as if they were workers at some factory, or claiming something. They sound a little bit like Dream Theater here.

08. Noel

After some light sounds the song is played in a broken time signature, but with melody. After a series of poems follows a heavier part, but short-lived. Then the drums accelerates but the sound itself does not. Vocalizations and a nice keyboard in the end.

09. '37

'37 begins with the hiss of an old LP and an orchestra, to give the impression of an old sound (maybe that's it that the name of the song refers, the year of 1937).

10. Medalion

A discreet percussion opens the track, followed by beautiful keyboard arpeggios, bass always deep, guitars up here and there, and the beautiful vocals. The song also has a lot of lines between his verses and instrumentals. And a beautiful guitar solo, melody and virtuosity. And a strange end.

11. Iris

Together with the strange end of the previous track a crazy space sound comes in, full of 'blips' and 'blops' of the synthesizer, a keyboard riff and syncopated to break the tension. I found a bit of Marillion here. After a brief verse ... surprise! Infernal silence of crickets and a lullaby. And stops the music with what started it, the old war orchestra.

12. Oczyszczenie

Excellent keyboard line, an extended melody, just thought it might be more madness after this open line, but this is the line of the band, instrumental tense / sad, with many spoken vocals.

13. Moje Mantry

The band closes the album with guitar melodies, those normally used by David Gilmour and with beautiful female vocals in the background.

This Polish and unknown band's a pleasant surprise, going along in the Neo Prog genre, but with a lot of influence of the 70's.

Today I've decided to dust my CD collection and give this one a spin (btw, my version has no bonus).

A bit naive and amateurish even for Neo-Prog (at first sight), nevertheless ABRAXAS' "Centurie" has some really great songs. Add this unmistakable Eastern Europe's atmosphere, and you'll get the whole picture. If you're into Polish Prog (Nemen, SBB, EXODUS) and Neo-Prog (the legendary COLLAGE, QUIDAM, MILLENUIM, MOONRISE), this maybe just what you've been looking for. Both recording quality and musicianship are good, tracks are well-written, the concept story behind them keeps you attentive, so why miss this release? A good one for genre's fans, recommended

When listening to the world ''Abraxas'' it is reasonable for your mind to think about Carlos Santanas' eponymous legendary album.But let me tell you that this is the same name of a band from Poland almost as legendary as Carlos Santana IMHO for progressive rock.ABRAXAS were founded at late 80's in a very difficult time for a progressive rock band to survive and after several changes in the line-up and some really bad moments (original guitarist Radek Kaminski was killed in a car accident) ) they managed to stabilize a basic line-up in 1994.Heavily influenced by 70's progressive rock giants such as GENESIS and YES,as well as MARILLION,the band released their debut in 1996 simply called ''Abraxas'' but the cover contained also the enigmatic phrase ''Cykl obraca sie.Narodziny,dziecinstwo pelne duszy, usmiechow niewinnych i zdrady'' which means ''Eveything comes full circle.Birth,childhood full of souls,innocent smiles and treachery.''...

The excellent music of the album is centered around the amazing performance of the talented vocalist and one of ABRAXAS' founders Adam Lassa.The tracks go undoubtfully the neo prog/art rock way but this album defines exactly how neo prog should be played.The music alternates between complex keyboard and guitar themes,melodic solos,an overall dramatic/emotional atmosphere and there is also much space for Lassa to sing in his own style.Lassa can be dramatic,melodic,angry,operatic,emotional at the same time,he is very much influenced by Fish,Peter Hammill or even some french prog rock bands singers like Francis Decamps of ANGE or Dominique LeGuennec of MONA LISA and in general he expresses the lyrics in an awesome way,a really talented frontman and of course the main figure of the band.Bassist Rafal Ratajczak completes his role perfectly sometimes with aggresive heavy bass playing and some others just fullfilling the sound.Marcin Mak is a great drummer with complex and rhythmic drum playing alternating all the time.Szymon Brzezinski is another great musician with great guitar solos,dramatic heavy passages and nice acoustic guitar work.Last but not least comes the keyboardist Marcin Blaszczik who handles also the beautiful flutes we listen throughout the album.He is obviously influenced by Mark Kelly and fills the sound of the band with some excellent solos and atmospheric grandiose passages.

The production of the album is simply fantastic.All the instruments and the voice are mixed in the same range resulting a great effort.There isn't a weak track in the album,we have to deal with rich compositions here,which have to offer dramatic and thrilling emotions to the listener.

This isn't just a very good album,this is a masterpiece of progressive rock from the finest neo prog scene of the world,Poland,which MUST stand next to the greatest albums of YES,GENESIS,KING CRIMSON,VAN DER GRAAF GENERATOR and RUSH in your collection.A must for everyone who considres himself a prog rock lover...5 full stars for this polish legend!

Composition / Creativity: 22/25 The language barrier makes this a bit difficult to judge so they get the benefit if the doubt. musically they are very solid. Lots of nice changes of mood and tempo. Musicianship: 21/25 Very solid Neo-style. Nothing to totally WOW me, but nothing that detracts either.

Production / Sound: 22/25 The production could help more in making the mood changes more dramatic. The sound is a bit too flatly consistent throughout.

Overall Effect: 21/25 I'm not often too fond of albums here I don't understand the language but this is a really nice release from this band from Poland. The efforts of the singer to emulate Fish (or the over-wrought Neo style in general) in Polish might be off-putting, but he seems to pull it off.

Total Score: 86

Grade: B / 4 Stars

The vocalist is really the focal point of this band, with his aggressive and theatrical vocals.He does sing in Polish,in fact the liner notes and lyrics are also all written in Polish. "Before" is a good,uptempo intro track to get us warmed up. "Tarot" opens with almost 3 minutes of sounds that come and go along with spoken words.No real melody until we get an eastern flavoured soundscape.It changes 3 1/2 minutes in to a guitar/drum melody.Organ after 5 minutes.Spanish sounding guitar 7 minutes in. "Dorian Gray" is pastoral early but becomes surprisingly heavy after a minute.Theatrical vocals come in.A calm 3 minutes in as we get waves of synths.It kicks back in. "Kameleon" opens with synths,theatrical vocals,drums then a full sound.Nice bass 2 1/2 minutes in.Some good prominant guitar after 4 minutes. "Alhambra" opens with acoustic guitar as synths join in.It kicks in before 1 1/2 minutes with vocals.Pleasant guitar 2 minutes in with pounding drums.Keys after 4 minutes as vocals get serious.Soaring guitar after 6 minutes and the bass stands out. "Inferno" has a good solid sound with crisp drumming.Some excellent guitar and drumming 4 minutes in. "Ajudah" has lots of atmosphere and organ to begin with.Over the top vocals after a minute.Yikes.Vocals do get better.Acoustic guitar after 3 minutes.More theatrical vocals and the guitar 7 1/2 minutes in is great. "De Profundis" opens with acoustic guitar and reserved vocals.Violin comes in as vocals get more passionate and the sound gets fuller. "Tabula Rasa" is the longest track at over 11 minutes,and for me the best one.Drums and flute stand out early as vocals and a fuller sound follows.Synths take the lead.Theatrical vocals after 3 1/2 minutes.A calm 5 minutes in with some beautiful guitar a minute after that.Flute and vocals come back 8 minutes in.Guitar ends it. Good record, but for me barely 3 stars.

I have a special kindness for this Polish band, having rated each of their releases with at least four stars.

How could it be different with this excellent live record? Some of their best songs being featured in a convincing live set. But some great songs are unfortunately missing ("Michel De Nostredame"). Nobody's perfect.

Their great lead vocalist (Adam Łassa ) is as good live than in the studio. It is amazing how he could impress me so much while singing in such an incomprehensible language. Because I don't speak any Polish. But he is so fabulous that he is able to convey his emotions to anybody on earth I guess.

I am sad that this one is their last album to date. On their web-site, there are talks of some live sets in 2005 so I guess that there were still some activity related with the band. I will post some queries and hopefully, I'll get some more accurate news about "Abraxas".

Is it necessary to say that "Dorian Gray", "Anathema", "Pokuszenie", "Spowiedz" are superbly rendered?

There are some unreleased songs recorded for this concert like "Czerwca", but the most extraordinary one is of course "Tomasz Fray Torquemada". A ten minutes journey through some symphonic and melodic music (the start). The guitar work is frankly catchy, while the beat catches up gently.

One can fully appreciate the grandeur of this band in such a song. Complex, tortured, full of different moods (even prog metal is featured here). It should please any prog lover, and not only neo prog ones since their music if far beyond this single and reductive genre.

This live album is a good way to discover this very pleasantd band. You'll get a great overview of their studio work as well as some unreleased material (even if E'lamachiwae is the only weak number).

"Pokuszenie" is the absolute highlight. A jewel of a long and truly melodic song. The guitar work is essential and so beautiful. On par with the best solo of Nick Barrett ("Pendragon"). This song even features some notes from "Hairless Heart" ("The Lamb"). It is fully symphonic. A monster piece of music. Chapeau, messieurs! Hats off gentlemen!

And "Czakramy" is on par : such an emotional chorus line, combined with a great off-beat tempo. A real pleasure to listen to it. The last part of this album is very strong as well. No second-hand track nor filler here. Adam always achieve to raise an average song (Medallion) to another level.

The poppy and upbeat Tarot is probably not as good as the studio version (to be discovered on their debut) but by no means should it be considered as of less interest. In one track, you'll get the essence of the band : symphonic, metal and neo-prog.

The sublime instrumental closing number is just a jewel of a symphonic guitar number. A fantastic way to end this great concert. What else do we need ?

Four stars for this excellent live album.

This is unfortunately the last studio album of this very good Polish band.

Sometimes at the edge of metal music, catchy melodies aren't forgotten here. Adam Łassa is still so passionate (especially when he is signing in his mother language). The opening track for instance is one of their wildest song, but these perfect and harmonious vocals add such a great balance.

There will be several breaks to these heavy and metal sounds, like the short and spacey "Czekam" for instance. Another of the very good song of this album is "Jezebel". A sweet instrumental intro is preceding one of the most vibrant vocals part you can imagine. This is a tranquil song, full of simplicity. Mostly instrumental : aerial keys combined with such a wonderful and melodic guitar break. Shivers down my spine when I listen to it. My fave here. Almost seven minutes of pure joy.

But this album IS pure joy. "Spowiedz" is another of their very catchy neo metal song full of harmony, with an upbeat tempo. Another very good composition as "Anatema" which starts on a spacey mood but soon turns out into a solid and extremely vigorous track. But, as usual, these vocal lines are so incredible. Adam is really a fantastic lead singer, but his band mates don't fall shy. "Abraxas" as a whole is a very interesting band even if I have difficulties to swallow "Petla Medialna".

The music played by Abraxas should have placed them high in the prog rock family. But they might have started their career too early, when it was very difficult for a Polish band to export their music. But IMHHO, they opened the way to modern Polish prog (together with Collage). They should also be recognized as such. Bravo for this, gentlemen!

After all, this album holds so many great melodic songs of which "Medalion" is just one more (even if the final part is rocking alright), that you can't consider this work as close to prog metal. And even if I know that lots of progheads are not very keen on the neo sub- genre, I strongly advise them to do an effort and listen to this great band. Original and mighty music but combined with passion and feeling.

Yes, you'll get all of this with "Abraxas" even if "Iris" sounds not so good. Somewhat too synthetic to my taste. But the closing instrumental number is brilliant again. Melancholic guitar break and whispering vocals...Such a magnificent way to close this excellent work.

Four stars for 99.

I am pleased to start 2008 with a review of a very good album.

This excellent Polish band had the good idea to publish an English version of their great "Centuries" album. I guess to get more exposure as some Italian bands did it in the early seventies ("PFM", "Banco"). And I can only be very happy with this.

Even if the language barrier didn't prevent me to be laudatory about their first two albums (rating the Polish equivalent with five stars) it is always good to be able to grab some of the wordings from an album. Being a French native speaker, Italian holds some similarities at least, which is absolutely not the case with Polish of course.

The only noticeable difference are the English texts. Adam Łassa, their expressive lead vocalist might not be as convincing but he remains very, very emotional.

I can only recommend this version of the great "Centurie" album. At least you'll be able to discover a hidden jewel from PA. IMHHO, they were rather important for the development of "Riverside". Just listen to this album and you will know where their roots are.

If ever you would like to get a more detailed review, you can read the one for the Polish version of this album in the appropriate entry.

This English version holds one unreleased song. A very good cover of one of the most beautiful prog song : "ITCOTCK". The flute break is truly superb and most of the song is played with an upbeat tempo and a harder edge which is rather good.

Four stars for this album. Emotion is higher on the original.

Happy new year to the proghead community.