UNINVITED DREAMS

"Uninvited Dreams" opens with a good heavy sound with keyboards. It settles when the vocals arrive 1 1/2 minutes in. It picks up before 3 1/2 minutes. Great sound 6 minutes in as the guitar makes some noise. Vocals are back to end it. "My Nightmare Is Scared Of Me" is my favourite track. Love those melancholic keys to open. It makes me think of OPETH's "Damnation". Drums then take over as they beat slowly as synths wash in with bass. Amazing sound. Those melancholic keys are back briefly before the song kicks in with guitar leading. Nice. It turns heavy with synths playing over top. Vocals before 3 minutes as it settles. It kicks back in at 6 minutes. "Childmare (A Goodnight Story)" kicks in hard with lots of heaviness and guitar. Vocals and riffs before a minute. Check out the bass and guitar 2 1/2 minutes in. Vocals are back followed by organ before 5 minutes. I like the section 6 minutes in with the relaxing guitar and heavy drums. It gets even better as it plays out. So uplifting 8 minutes in.

"Lack Of Dreams" opens with heavy drums as guitar joins in. It settles with synths but it's still powerful. Vocals follow including guest female vocals. How good is this ! It settles before 4 minutes then we get a sample of spoken words before it starts to build. So good ! Bass after 7 1/2 minutes then the band kicks in. It settles after 9 minutes with dual vocals. Guitar and synths follow. "Is The Devil From Spain ?" is a Spanish flavoured instrumental that sounds fantastic with those intricate sounds. "Is That Devil From Spain Too?" has a nice heavy sound to it with prominant bass. Guitar before a minute. Here we go ! It then settles some as synths lead the way before 4 minutes.The guitar is back 5 minutes in as it kicks in heavily. Keys before 6 1/2 minutes followed by guitar in a relaxing soundscape. "Neverending Dream" opens with some atmosphere. It picks up after 1 1/2 minutes. Vocals 3 minutes in. It kicks in more a minute later. A guitar solo after 4 1/2 minutes as bass throbs and drums beat. It settles with vocals before 8 minutes.

Another great sounding album from this band. You have to pick up at least one of their last three records, you won't be disappointed.

Coming less than a year after the fine "The body parts party", "Uninvited dreams" finds Poland's Osada Vida taking further significant strides forward in their chosen field. While broadly classified by this site as a prog metal band, do not be misled into thinking they are just another riff obsessed heavy rock outfit. There is a refinement and quality here which transcends a number of genres, resulting in an album of great diversity but also admirable consistency.

The unchanged line up collaborate in writing all the tracks together with the exception of the brief "Is this devil from Spain", which is credited to guitarist Bartek Bereska alone. Engineer and producer Marcin Chlebowski focuses on bring out the full might of the band's sound, with vast keyboard layers and front and centre lead guitar being the order of the day. On "My nightmare is scared of me" for example, the strength of the musicianship is emphasised superbly in a piece which thrives on perfectly focused power.

Prior to that, the opening title track is possibly the band's best work to date. This amalgam of influences from ELP, PFM, Yes, Genesis and numerous other bands, especially those with symphonic leanings, results in arguably the band's most accessible number yet. "Childmare" has definite Genesis leanings, the lengthy keyboards backed guitar workout being of the type Banks and Hackett would have been proud of. My sole criticism here is that the track fades, rather than reaching its deserved climax.

Every track is developed fully, the attention to detail given to the arrangements being obvious throughout. While the album's concept is dark and heavy (essentially bad dreams and their meanings), the music itself is far from depressive. There is an uplifting spirit here with pretty much all the songs being up-tempo.

For me, "Uninvited dreams" represents Osada Vida's best work to date. There is a confidence and professionalism here which sees the band prepared to make the music they want to make. Highly recommended.

By the way, good to see a name check for Progarchives in the album credits!

This talented quartet releases their sixth album. I've started following them, quite by chance, starting at their third album, Three Seats Behind A Triangle and have been hooked since (I reviewed their two previous albums and interviewed the band as well in 2009). I feel that with each album they progressed with their sound and production. But the familiar sound from Three Seats is still here, that somewhat murky signature, spell-binding spirit it sill present and permeates through every song.

The drummer, Adam Podzimski,is again the writer of the lyrics, about dreams that one wishes he'd forget as soon as he wakes up, undesired dreams that come though they are unwanted.

A great addition here is the female vocals by Natalia Krakowiak, which add a compelling layer to their sound and counteract Lukasz's vocals, which I stated in my previous reviews were a soft spot for the band. Though, by now, I'm comfortable with them, and they fit well with the softer moments, there are places where I wish a cruder and fuller voice would be added to complement the more powerful sections.

The sound is again, rich, heavy, dense and thick. The keyboards are given a major role, as can be particularly heard in the title track where it leads the way, and in other songs where it creates eerie and alluring strokes and brushes of sounds that back up the melody and add to it. But the role of the guitar is not diminished as one can hear in the sharp sounding guitar throughout the album and also on the lead role and solo in it has on Is That Devil From Spain Too?.

Listen also to the competent drumming in both the fast and aggressive parts as well as in the mellow and slower paced segments. Which brings me to the next point: Variety and dynamics are characteristics of Osada Vida's sound here as well. They can be heavy and powerful as they can be dreamy and soft. And this variety comes to play in the rather long songs on this album: four songs over 10 minutes, and two others over 8 minutes. They make excellent use of each minute on these songs, developing the ideas they present, building tension, introduce alternate directions and build up on contrasting sounds, rhythms and moods.

We are also introduced to two connected instrumental pieces, one which serves as the intro for the other: the first piece has an acoustic guitar with ominous sounding chords and a Spanish flavour. The second has the electric guitar take over, and having a "fiesta" of its own for more than 9 minutes. It becomes quite heavy at some places, metal-ish even (I was reminded a bit of Riverside's more aggressive songs at one point). But proper balance is given when the keyboards are "allowed" to join in and where the guitar takes a softer approach, somewhat jazzy in style even. They create here their most varied composition with several sections that contrast each other with their intensity levels, pace and in approach as well. These two pieces present a somewhat different side of Osada Vida that I'd like to hear more of.

There is quite a lot to absorb here, over an hour of music, and add to that 3 bonus tracks (one is an edit of the title track), you're in for a treat. I find this to be their most accomplished and varied album to date, with the most captivating tunes they've created, absolutely marvelous.

The first thing I noticed was the vast improvement in the sound over their last album and the band plays tighter too. They still seem to occupy similar territory to their fellow countrymen Riverside; prog metal instilled with atmospheric keyboard flourishes. Despite no shortage of powerful metal riffs the guitars don't take over completely and there's still plenty of space for keyboards, which while often forming a backdrop for the guitars take a front seat occasionally with a mixture of modern synth textures, piano and Hammond (?) organ.

Most of the songs are around the ten minute mark and the band takes the opportunity for plenty of instrumental breaks which are in the main inventive and maintain the listener's interest. Childmare (A Goodnight Story) contains an excellent and lengthy guitar solo from Bartek Bereska showing what a good player he really is. Osada Vida's weakest area is the vocal work of bassist Lukasz Lisiak which can't be described as anything more than adequate. They are helped however by the inclusion of some female backing vocals from Natalia Krakowiak who adds another dimension to Lisiak's slightly monotone delivery.

Apart from the title track which opens the album, I did find it took a few listens for most of the material to sink in, thinking it a little ordinary at first. It's worth sticking with as after a few plays it starts to reveal its secrets. No such problems with Uninvited Dreams though, with its contagious hook on the chorus.

Overall while not in the same league as their countrymen Riverside, Osada Vida have made an album that is a step up from their last one, which although I found it enjoyable enough hasn't been off the shelf much once the dust settled and it was out of my recent purchases area. I suspect Uninvited Dreams will have longer lasting appeal. 3 ½ stars.