MetalMind 2014
Polish hard rockers get caught between the present and the past.
It’s not a temporal thing in this album’s title but rather its number: a successor to 2012’s “Be3” simply punches puns here and there, especially when it comes to their chosen style’s references. Drawing mostly on the ’70s heavy template, as announced by the riveting riffs of 10-minute opener “My Sinners,” quite soon the band find themselves on a contemporary terrain which replaces classical upbeat mood with modern despair – depressing in the likes of “Once” and ballad “Farewell,” despite their organ roar, yet delightful in the dance groove of “Last Second.”
And while “Wings Of Dreams” flies on the blues spirit, it feels too ethereal to carry the emotional weight, although new singer Roman Kańtoch pulls it all with enviable aplomb and pitches a genuine energy in the otherwise superficial “Open Road.” Still, it’s the magical interplay between Michal Kuryś’ ivories and Piotr Brzychcy’s guitar that keeps tension high, climaxing with acoustically-minded, hypnotic instrumental “Timeline,” and provides rich folky-and-funky, if hard-hitting, texture for “Grey Leaf,” present here in its Polish version, too. So, for all the group’s effort to get international, the most natural and emotional they are on this one and on the other bonus, the exquisitely moving “Moja Dusza,” but overall the album presents an upgrade on the band’s previous work as is obvious when a concert DVD accompanying “Before” gets a spin.
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