TIME MUST HAVE A STOP

I'm about to let the cat out of the bag, air some of our dirty laundry, and other (mixed) metaphors as well! The review process starts out with an email from our commander-in- chief, Jill Hughes. She'll list groups available and we scurry off in our trucks and visit the closest series of tubes to find snippets of sound and get a taste for what we have at our fingertips. When we choose, she sends us all sorts of information about the group along with the music we're to examine.

When Votum's Time Must Have a Stop came around, I found some samples and liked what I heard so I requested it. And, when the package arrived it was Christmas morning with shreds of envelope flying about the room. Enclosed, in addition to the CD, was a description of the band which seemed to indicate that they were largely a metal-focused band. We all have our preferences; mine tend to shy away from the heavier, harder sounds that others find far more palatable. It was therefore with some trepidation that I listened to the album in preparation for this review.

And, I was most pleasantly surprised.

This is quite possibly the best album I've heard in months, including those I've reviewed for this site. Trying to pigeonhole them into a specific genre (e.g., progressive metal or progressive rock) does them a disservice. This is not to say they lack progressive features, just that they're versatility is what makes this album such a great one to listen to. Seamlessly they shift from a progressive sound to an atmospheric track and on to an acoustic piece. I find myself favorably comparing them to Pagan's Mind, Akashic, Pink Floyd, Octavia Sperati, Ayreon and others without being able to focus on any one specific influence.

Of the album's eight tracks, some are undeniably progressive. Chiefly, tracks 2, 5, 7, and 10 will appeal to fans of rhythmic guitar, melodic keyboards, and top-notch percussion. In particular, the fifth track, "The Hunt is On", is a stellar composition providing a two-minute introduction highlighting the precision of the instrumentalists before the vocalist, Maciej Kosinski, joins. Expertly mastered, the vocals on this track?and the others?are never lost in the instrumental foundation which support them and the careful listener will be able to pick apart the polyphonic structure of the melodies behind Kosinski.

This album is a must have if you enjoy variety; complex, interesting lyrics; and a layered approach to instrumentation. The progressive, epic structure of the fifth track leads effortlessly into a more atmospheric, acoustic track on the sixth ("Away"), which transitions into "Looking at Me Now", quite possibly the heaviest track on the album. Each song is unique in some capacity producing a sound that'll keep you coming back for more.

A votum is a prayer wherein a person seeks to beseech from a higher power a gift or boon in return for a sacrifice of some kind. If Time Must Have a Stop is indicative of Votum's future works, I'll be glad to perform whatever they require to speed their production processes along.