PROMENA (TRANSFORMATION)

This opus appears as a regular revelation to me, because I fell in love with the Czech progressive rock music scene. Bands such as Synkopy with Oldřich Veselý or Blue Effect with one of the best Czechoslovakian instrumentalists, guitarist Radim Hladík, these are what Jeseter reminds me, which has been meant as a compliment, of course.

Czechoslovakia was full of great talents, but the political system wasn't pleasant to young artists with inspirations from the US & the whole West at all. So now, when the country is completely free, the great bands from late 60s and 70s have their own followers, including Jeseter from Ostrava. Jeseter's music could sound a bit conventional, the roots of early neo-prog are really strong anyway, but there is something very special about their lyrics - the result of longtime work of Jeseter's lead vocalist Tobi - and also about the precise guitar work of Jan Gajdica, the composer of all Jeseter's tracks. As he often says, progressive rock would be nothing without a volume pedal, which is also pretty obvious from this record. Gajdica and the volume pedal make together an inseparable unit, which keeps their music very neo-proggish, as well as Robert Hejduk's touching keyboard sound. And the list could go on and on... Just count everything you like about this album and you'll get a suprising outcome - this album is an epic MASTERPIECE of the 00s neo-prog genre. Greatness, greatness and greatness again. The whole life in one album. And possibly one album in the whole life - even fifty thousand listens aren't enough for Jeseter and 'Proměna'.

Simply a breathtaking album. Czech prog at its finest.

Jeseter's Promena finds the Czech group adopting a sound highly reminiscent of early neo- prog, particularly early work by the likes of IQ or The Lens, filtered through musicians steeped in the Czech prog scene and its traditions dating back to Czechoslovakian days and the prime of groups like Blue Effect. Robert Hejduk's synthesiser work, in particular, puts me in mind of Martin Orford's work on IQ's Tales From the Lush Attic or The Lens's A Word In Your Eye. If you want a breathtaking work of staggering originality which completely rewrites the prog rulebook, this certainly isn't it, but if you want to hear skilled prog musicians paying tribute to their influences you aren't going to be disappointed here.