MILLENIUM

The latest release from Polish band Millenium is probably their most complete to date, with a great deal of work having taken place on he arrangements. The five guys have also brought in some guests on backing vocals, sax and trumpet but these have been used sparingly and consequently to great effect. There are times when I find myself reminded of the way that IQ also uses a sax to great effect, bringing it is just to add a further touch of class to music that is often quite Floydian and symphonic in nature. This is in direct contrast to "Dark Secrets" which is a bouncy romp with plenty of in your face guitars and keyboards. But, that in turn leads to "When I Fall" which starts off just with piano and voice. Music doesn't need great complexity to be enthralling, and that is definietly the case here.

Millenium are not only one of the top prog bands to come out of Poland, but are one o fthe top prog bands around, period. They continue to produce high quality work album after album, and this is probably their finest achievemnet to date. I have been lucky enough to be able to hear most of their releases to date, and hopefully this will be the one that finally breaks them through to a wider audience. If you think that Riverside are the only prog band worth knowing about from Poland then your musical education is sadly lacking, and this is an album that should be high on everyone's lists to discover. Symphonic, complex, immediate, accessible, beguiling and bewitching, who could wish for more? www.millenium.art.pl

What one notices immediately about this 2008 album, is the artwork where on the front cover a boy is crawling towards the sea through open doors, while on the beach next to him is the band name and album title written in the sand. On the rear of the booklet is a hand poking out of the sand. Are we witnessing a birth in a similar fashion to that of a baby turtle, or is it the last frantic movement of someone who has been buried and is dying? That may all seems a bit dark and deep, but take it from me here is a band that want you to think about the lyrics ? which is why they are printed in both English and Polish (although sung in English). Musically they also want you to take a breath and dive into their world with opener "Embryo" having more than a hint of Pink Floyd about it. This is more symphonic, with plenty of 'trad prog' elements, although they do also riff to remind us that they are generally neo-prog.

Only four songs, but the shortest is just under twelve minutes long and the extended length allows them to really explore. They mix up with mellotrons with more modern sounds, with the guitar often being allowed to take the lead while bassist Krzysztof Wyrwa and drummer Tomasz Paśko are such a complete rhythm section that it is possible to overlook their contribution: if they are just to provide simplicity then they are there, but if complex runs and fills are required then they can deliver it with ease. This is again an album of great maturity and musical dexterity while also being immediate and totally accessible. www.millenium.art.pl

This 2008 EP brings to a close the story that had been developed through earlier albums and then coming to a climax on 'Numbers and the Big Dream of Mr Sunders'. There are two reworkings (with vocals) of songs from that album, but the highlight is definitely the fifteen minute "Epilogue", where we learn that the three Sunders' brothers, Daniel, Adrian and Johnny, all end up together in the same asylum. As with all of their more recent works, the vocals are in unaccented English, while the lyrics are provided within the booklet in both English and their native Polish, a nice touch. I have never been able to understand why Millenium haven't managed to achieve quite the acclaim withi prog circles as Riverside, as everything I have heard of this is extremely polished and enjoyable and here is another case in point. Although not an album, here we have 28 minutes of music that has not appeared in this form elsewhere which needs to be sought out by fans of the band as it really does provide a major link between their previous works and what was yet to come.

As always, the music and concept is by keyboard player Ryszard Kramarski, who then worked with singer Łukasz Gall on the lyrics, and complexity can often be replaced by a simplicity that is breathtaking. Listen to the introduction of "Dream About Aliens" to see what I mean, with Piotr Płonka's guitar taking the lead and being supported by keyboards before switching roles. Elements of Collage, IQ and possibly Pendragon combine to provide prog that is symphonic and elegant and so very easy to appreciate.

Inspired by the new technologies dominating human life, Ryszard Kramarski decided to write material for an album dedicated to internet addiction.Former Millenium guitarist Piotr Plonka returns to the line-up in January 2005 for this fresh recording and the fifth work of the band is released the same year on Lynx Music.The title ''Interdead'' refers to the main figure of the concept, a man called Adrian, and his sick addiction to the internet.

The song-based stuff met in ''Deja vu'' becomes now the driving force behind ''Interdead''.The elaborate instrumental passages and the thrilling melodies of the past efforts are history and Millenium base their whole sound on lyricism and atmosphere.Gall's voice remains expressive, warm and intense, but the album leans heavily on his chords without much space for more demanding instrumentals or even some decent melodies.The SATELLITE influence is more evident than ever as Kramarski & co. follow the lyrical concept from the start to the very end, delivering memorable material with a modern edge, the guitars have a strong PINK FLOYD vibe (aka very GILMOUR-ish) and only some background synths as well as Gall's voice indicate that this is the same band that produced ''''Reincarnations''.Female vocals, electronics and some crunchy guitar playing add the album an even more fresh air but without any sign of some intricate music in the horizon.Still this is an easy-listening work with plenty of memorable material, both catchy and atmospheric, and if you follow the concept story you might get some satisfaction by its end.

Millenium continue to proove they are a band capable of some very good but also some average releases.I consider this one to be listed in the second category, the concept and vocal performance are good enough to purchase the album, but the musicianship lacks any kind of edge, dynamics or energy.For fans of modern Prog as well as PINK FLOYD lovers...2.5 stars.

Poland's Millenium go for a particularly proggy structure for this album, consisting of just four songs with a running time of at least 11 minutes each. This time around, they seem to be having a go at incorporating a few modern electronic sounds into their musical approach in a manner reminiscent at points of the first Satellite album, but also counterbalancing this with subduded acoustic moments. It's a pleasant enough listen, though I would agree with kenethlevine that the album does sag a little in the middle, and if I'm brutally honest the opening and closing tracks, whilst good, aren't what I'd call brilliant either. Overall, Exist feels like a somewhat transitional album, as though Millenium are pausing to reflect on where to take their sound next.

This is the first album I've heard by Millenium, and I think it more than qualifies them to take a place in the front rank of the Polish neo-prog scene. Like their predecessors on that scene such as Collage, the influence of Marillion (and, to a lesser extent, Pendragon) is a big factor in the music, but Millenium are able to put an interesting twist on the same old neo-prog sound by calling on more influence from Pink Floyd than is typical in this particular corner of prog.

The concept of the album - a cynical lawyer gets in a car crash and enters a coma, during which he has visions of himself on trial to assess whether he's wasted his life - is interesting enough to hold the listener's interest, and the musical backing is more than strong enough to back it up, so on the whole this seems to be a very good place to start exploring this band's music - I'm certainly keen to hear more from them.

At a time when Millenium had finally found a solid core to build upon, their leader Ryszard Kramarski faced another two departures.Guitarist Piotr Plonka and bassist Piotr Mazurkiewicz left the band to be replaced by Przemek Druzkowski and Krzysztof Wyrwa respectively (also a user of Chapman stick).The new line-up entered Kramarski's studio in summer 2003 to record the new Millenium entry.The recordings finished in March 2004 and the album was on shelves for sale during the summer by Lynx Music.Title: ''Deja vu''.

The line-up changes reflected on Millenium's sound, which tried to find a new shape.The tracks have all this great atmosphere met in the previous album: dramatic moods, nice FLOYD-ian guitar solos, haunting atmospheres and great vocals by Lukasz Galeziowski.However to my ears they sound less demanding, additionally these great atmospheres are sometimes spoiled by the external use of technology: Too many vocal distortions, strong use of effects, not to mention the robotic sound of drums at some point and the use of ethnic-sounding keyboards.But the band still knows how to change mellow passages into richer ones and this saves the work from total mediocrity.An average album so far but all these just before listening to the last couple of tracks.Here Millenium recall the best moments of their previous albums.Highly emotional musicianship with a unique atmosphere in the vein of SATELLITE, nice use of background keys, deep bass throughout, moving electric soloing and Galeziowski delivering back-to-back amazing performances.

The last pair of excellent compositions will save the album from following the fate of the mediocre ''Vocanda''.The most uneven release of Millenium by far, split in great but also weak compositions.But the great ones are good enough to label the album as recommended.

Polish band Millenium has been on the progressive rock scene for several years, in fact, this is their 8th studio album to date, though it is their first conceptual album, and the first one I listen. I got interested in this particular album due to some reviews I had read, and now that I got it I can tell it is a wonderful release, which is based in a story that shows the difficulty of relationships, taking as models the names of Adam and Eve and making some comparisions and metaphores during the whole story. The album is entitled "Puzzles" so each of the songs are indispensable jigsaws that together complete the puzzle.

This is a double CD album with a lenght of 45 minutes each, so once you decide to play it, open your mind and keep track of the music for one hour and a half, because it is worth it. The first CD has the name of "Together", while the second one of "Separately"; both consist of seven songs each. So the album kicks off with "Eden?" which is a two-minute instrumental and introductory track with keyboards and a guitar riff which will be used later in the album. This song leads to "The Tree of Knowledge", continues with cool guitar riffs and keyboard tunes that create a symphonic sound. At minute and a half vocals appear and the lyrical concept starts, while the music plays a catchy and lovable sound. The last part is instrumental with higher intensity.

"The First Man on the Earth" starts with guitar and a soft voice, seconds later the man begins to talk and express his feelings, it is like a monologue. The music is progressing little by little, though the structure may not be that complex, it is very well crafted. Here we can also appreciate changes in mood, from intense an sorrowful moments, to calmer and reflexing ones. "Apple & Snake" is one of my favorite tracks, it caught my attention since the very first listen. The first minute is instrumental and introductory, then vocals enter while keyboards make the atmosphere, the bass notes are complementary. Later the rhythm becomes more intense and stronger, though it is just for some seconds, because it slows down a bit. The atmosphere here is chaotic, tense and even dramatic. What I love of this track is that variety of sounds and those changes they managed to create in just six minutes.

With "The Sin" they share a totally different sound, with acoustic guitar that seems far of progressive rock, but that perfectly fits in this album. The vocals are mellow and the rhythm catchy, easy to learn and even to sing. The story is the great thing here, and worth mentioning is that in the booklet we can see some images and sentences that perfectly match with the story and the song in course. Here, they wrote "it is not sure who had the first sin?" and yeah, it isn't. Later there is a guitar riff that reminds me a bit of Pink Floyd's The Wall, which is one of the band's influences, as they described in ther website. The second part of the track is different, with some metal-like hints, spacey keys and a tense atmosphere. "Broken Rule" is an instrumental track that retakes the guitar solo of the first song; it is like the album's escence. Having this instrumental song allows us to create images in our minds and complement our own story.

The first CD finishes with its longest composition: "Everything About Her". It softly starts with guitars and keyboard ambience; after a minute and a half drums, bass, piano and vocals appear and continue with the conceptual story. In this track we can once again find a blend of emotions and musical elements that together continue building up the story, complementing that novel, or film, or play, that you are creating on your mind. The neo-prog sound is really evident in this song, more in the sixth minute, when I could really find some reminiscences of older acts such as Marillion, of course. A wonderful point about this album, is that here after 45 minutes I did not feel bored or tired at all, on the other hand, I was excited and eagerly waiting for the second album, so Millenium created a record easy to listen and enjoy.

Now, the second CD begins with "Farewell" and inthe first moments it shows more intensity, though later it calms down and creates a soft and pastoral sound. But guess what, it only lasts some seconds and later changes over and over, so here we can have soft and calm moments, with hope, sadness and regret. The music of this track reminds me a bit of "Apples & Snake", and in the instrumental moments, once again of Pink Floyd.. The next song is "The Prose of Life" which has a sympathetic piano sound and a really catchy sound; though it is also a good track, I believe this is my least favorite one, musically speaking, thanks to its first part where the catchy spirit reigns. However, the second part of the song becomes much more interesting, with great guitar riffs, cool keyboard moments and wonderful drums. So I can cut in half this song, choose the second one, and eliminate the first one.

"Ice Dreams" continues with a soft and catchy sound, but this time it does not harm the music, on the other hand, it helps reaching its goals, and its icy dreams. The chorus will surely make you sing here. After three and a half minutes there is a short passage where keyboards make a calm atmosphere, and I love when lyrics say "close your eyes and see your ice dreams", because it opens the gates to imagination so while the music sounds, you can create once again images in your head. "Time is the Great Healer" has the mellowest and more melancholic moment of the album, with its piano and voice. The structure is simple, but having put a song like this at this particular moment of the story, was a great choice. The last two minutes are wonderful, with the string instruments and drums on it, creating an emotional ending.

"Puzzled" is the only instrumental track of this second disc. Bass notes over a keyboard backgroud for the first moments. Later guitars and drums join and take us to their journey, with a joyful and hopeful sound that let us know that in spite of adversity, the puzzle can be completed. "We Try Again" is the longest of this second CD, and it retakes the album's essence but now with piano, not with guitar. Then vocals appear and little by little the song is adding elements and progressing. The first minutes are mellow, but later it changes and becomes a bit heavier, with a faster rhythm that creates a more exciting sound. Here I imagine Adam's mind and heart having a revolution, making all in his hands to save the relationship, like if his life would go with it. In this particular song one can have a feast of emotional passages, and even a mixture of feelings. This is one of the best moments of the whole album, without a doubt.

And it finishes with "Our Little Eden", in which for the first time a female voice, representing Eva appears, singing along with Adam, fusioning into one person, and creating their new and own paradise. The music here is easy to dig, and clearly shares that hope and joy the charachters have, with the re-born of their relationship. Though it may be a cliche to have happy endings, I don't care, and I am too happy with it.

I had a great experience with Millenium's "Puzzles", a wonderful concept album that I would like to recommend, mainly to symphonic rock and neo-prog.

Enjoy it!

I have to admit that I didn't came to this album with great expectations. I am not a huge neo-prog fan, and in fact I tend to dislike a good deal of contemporary bands falling under this label. Having listened to this album a few times (thanks to the fantastic service provided by progstreaming.com), I am pleased to report that Millenium are a positive and welcomed surprise for me.

Don't get me wrong, Millenium are certainly neo-prog and at places they do not seem to do much to differentiate themselves from the dozens of neo-prog bands out there, nor do they make great efforts to innovate or expand their sound much beyond the boundaries of the genre. In this sense, I am afraid that their new double-album, 'Puzzles', won't make it to my personal top-10 list for album of the year. Nevertheless, the quality of the music across the 14 songs on Puzzles is really good. The musicianship is amazing, and each song has its great guitar/bass/synth moments, that keep them interesting and elevate them above mediocrity. And I am not only talking about the excellent technical abilities of the musicians involved: the melodies these guys came up with are often really really good, and a pleasure to listen to. In this sense, my favourite song on the album is the instrumental 'Broken Rule', with its great Warr guitar and sinth solos. On the negative side, the vocals do not do much for me on this album - in fact I tend to dislike most of the singing here. There's nothing wrong with the signging per se. Actually vocalist Łukasz Gall has a good voice. But the (very neo-prog) melodies he sings and his 'surgical', cold approach are just not appealing to me. Another problem I have with this release is its length, but again this might be because I am not a great fan of the genre and 90 minutes of neo-prog are a bit too much for my taste.

Overall, this is a good album, with some very good moments - give Millenium a chance and you won't be disappointed. Especially recommended if you are into neo-prog.

The new millenium found the Polish Millenium in a bit of confusion with the addition of Piotr Plonka on guitars and the result were not the expected ones.However the band kept being very busy and productive with this stable core and recorded a new album in 2002 after a half a year process,while the leader Ryszard Kramarski opened a new studio to work with more comfort.''Reincarnations'' would see the light in double version,both in English and Polish language.

The English version sees the band orienting towards a more personal sound,leaving the rich sound of their debut and the confused ''Vocanda'' behind for good.Millenium now sound a lot like MARILLION on their ''Clutching at straws'' era along with PINK FLOYD hints.Simple structured compositions with an intense lyrical content and some fantastic performances by Lukasz Galeziowsky on vocals.The guitar work is simple but a feeling of grandiosity comes out of the notes.The organ and synths do not deliver any flashy passages,but they are there to create deep,personal and highly atmospheric soundscapes.The production remains a strong point,being bright and clear.The result is pure melodic and atmospheric Neo Prog along the vein of SATELLITE, MR. GIL or later COLLAGE.

This is a mark improvement over ''Vocanda'' and I am pleased to see the band experimenting with their style in a good way.Of course I can't say they created something trully personal,but ''Reincarnations'' indicated that the band stepped into the right direction.Recommended in general,but especially to fans of ethereal Neo Prog...3.5 stars.