ANIMATIONS

Animations is the self-titled debut full-length studio album by Polish progressive metal act Animations. The album was released independently by the band themselves. At this point Animations were a four-piece act and the music on Animations is fully instrumental.

The music on Animations is pretty close to the instrumental sections in Dream Theater´s music but maybe more correctly the music sounds very influenced by Liquid Tension Experiment. The technical level of the musicianship on the album is simply astonishing. I want to emphasise that these guys can play and I mean really play their instruments. There are several jaw dropping moments on the album. So that part of the album is first class. There is a slight problem about the album though that excellent musicianship can´t save. First of all this is a hard album to get through. 60 minutes of demanding intrumental music is a bit much IMO ( this won´t be a problem for some, so consider this a minor complaint). My second complaint is that the songs don´t stick that well in my head. It helps with repeated listens but sometimes I get the feeling that the songs are made to show off and not to evoke feelings. I simply miss some emotions. Be it anger, melancholy, happiness or whatever. The music to be honest leaves me a bit cold.

The production is professional and well sounding. Again maybe a bit too cold and not personal enough, but definitely professional. Quite the achivement for an independently released album.

I know I´m a bit harsh on this album, but being a virtuoso musician obligates IMO and Animations while full of challenging playing and the above mentioned jaw dropping moments lacks focused songwriting and a little less focus on playing if you ask me. Animations is still a greatly enjoyable album in small portions though and a 3.5 star rating is warranted. I expect great things from Animations in the future. They have so many great things going for them but still lack that final touch to earn the excellent mark. I´m sure they will get there in time.