HOPE TO SEE ANOTHER DAY

Poland may not have the largest progressive rock scene in Europe, but especially within the last decade or so, I've noticed a large amount of phenomenal prog acts popping up throughout the country. Believe is one such act, and now that the band has plenty of well-received observations under their belt, it's a great time to revisit their 2006 debut, Hope To See Another Day. Most notably featuring guitarist Merek Gil of Collage and Satellite fame, this debut introduces Believe as a class act with a unique approach to the neo-prog genre.

Hope To See Another Day comfortably resides in the neo-progressive rock style, but Believe's music is on the more melancholic, guitar-driven, and heavy side of the equation. Whilst I wouldn't venture to call this a metal release, some of the riffs here are quite heavy, and Believe often opts for multiple guitar parts complemented by subtle keyboard work from Adam Milosz, rather than a synth-dominated sound that you might expect from the genre. This stylistic choice works well for Believe's dark and melancholic music, and the moody atmospherics heard throughout the album make for an engaging listen from start to finish. Hope To See Another Day may not immediately "click" with all listeners, but its depth makes for something that is highly rewarding in the long run.

Believe left some room for improvement on their debut - the production, for example, is a bit unpolished and the album as a whole could use more variation - but this is still a mightily impressive debut from these Polish proggers. With its recent reissue on Metal Mind Productions, now is a great time to discover Hope To See Another Day if you haven't experienced it yet. This is one of the most impressive progressive rock debuts you're likely to hear from Poland!