A DIFFERENT STATE OF REALITY

The initial idea for PROAGE goes all the way back to the 80s when a band called Czwarty Wymiar (Polish for Fourth Dimension) was founded in Będzin, Poland (near Katowice) in 1985. Initiated by vocalist Mariusz Filosek and drummer Arek Grybek the band played for five years before disbanding but never released anything. Fast forward 18 years and the duo once again joined forces with the intent to carry the band into the 21st century. With the recruitment of Marcin Kwiecien (bass), Maciek Kwecien (guitar) and Marcin Kosakowski (keyboards). Although the band technically broke up in 1990 it remained on again off again through much of the early 2000s. Unfortunately the Kwiecen brothers would depart and the new replacements of Sławomir Jelonek (guitar) and Roman Simiński (bass) would create the final lineup for the band's first ever release under the PROAGE moniker.

This debut album was released in 2017 and contained two versions: the Polish language edition with the title ODMIENNY STAN RZECZYWISTOŚCI and it's English counterpart A DIFFERENT STATE OF REALITY which is a process most modern bands don't really bother to do much these days although the practice was fairly common for Italian prog bands of the 70s with a few others like France's Ange cashing in on the dualistic nature of language use. The music of PROAGE (i assume it's pronounced like PRO AGE) is somewhat difficult to categorize as it is somewhat of a progressive form of alternative rock with heavy guitar riffs, stellar bass grooves and a percussive drive that exists merely to accompany the stringed instruments. There are also dense keyboard sections that provide gloomy atmospheres much like neo-prog but there are also keyboard centered melodic hooks that sound like they borrowed from homegrown folk music sources.

A DIFFERENT STATE OF REALITY (or its Polish language counterpart) contains 11 tracks that are a mix of neo-prog much like the more modern sounds of Arena along with heavier rock heft sometimes even briefly entering metal territory not too far from the camp of early Riverside however PROAGE hasn't mastered the unique compositional flair of its fellow Warsaw based countrymen who created a more sophisticated mix off the prog, metal and ambience. The vocals of Mariusz Filosek are mostly performed in the clean neo-prog style with a slight rasp but they dip into the more bombastic metal growls on occasion. The album sounds a lot different with Polish lyrics and gives it a more exotic feel as the English language version doesn't have the emotional depth. The overall feel is that of space rock with Pink Floydian guitar solos breezing by. The guitars are generally clean and echo and augmented with an atmospheric backdrop except for when they burst into the heavy distortion of metal.

Overall PROAGE's debut album is a decent listening experience with the biggest problem resulting in the similarity between the tracks that don't find many ways to differentiate themselves. The ubiquitous nonchalant bass groove and space rock paradigm is only intermittently punctuated by the faster tempo antics of the harder rock and the occasional unexpected anomaly such as some sort of circus music. The underpinnings for a great album are definitely present but the band could've woven the compositions into more interesting pieces that delivered a wider range of musical expressions. Not a bad album by any means but it's not the kind of album that blows you away and beckons return visits. While the promise is lurking around every corner, unfortunately it is never resolved with that one satisfying track that offers a pay off. Despite the Pink Floyd references wrapped up in classical Bach and heavier Riverside extras, PROAGE falls just short of making an excellent album's worth of music magic.