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The best
kept secret of the Czechian scene, so it seems, can be found in the
line up of one of the oldest metal bands of this country: Root.
Guitar player Peter ‘Blackie’ Hosek has a side project ‘Cales’ since
1997 where he likes to express the epic side of his musical taste.
The debut ‘Bonds Of Togetherness’ was sacrificed to the Celtic
mythology and druids. Also on the 2001 release ‘The Pass In Time’
the lyrics speak about nature and its miraculous influence on every
living creature. Cales works with different vocalists, it has always
been and it is still that way. On this album Skuny from Sad Harmony
has the biggest contribution. But there is also Alesh with some
vocal parts and the spoken lyrics. As for the female vocals there is
Zuzana, allowed to sing in a few songs too (lead vocals in
‘Spiritual Bond’).
There was
no hurry, only when the time was right and the song-writing has been
completed with Blackie’s benediction, this cream of the Czechian
scene gathered in the Shaark studios to register everything. Because
the former CD was a cracker, I was very curious about this
follow-up. And now is the time when ‘Uncommon Excursion’ has done
its job in my CD player several times and the impressions flow
easily out of my pen. What struck me immediately was that the new
album has a smaller amount of epic songs and rocks more in a solid
way. So does ‘Hangover’ as an energetic starter. It reminds me a bit
of the faster songs on the latest Green Carnation release ‘Blessing
In Disguise’.
The
production is better than before and the lyrics do not dig into the
past but speak about personal relationships and the fascination for
the universe. The songs are shorter than ever and with groovy mid
temp creations as ‘Kisses From Stars’ and ‘Farewell’ we can only be
totally satisfied. Most of the time Skuny sings with a dark, warm
voice, somewhat similar to Dan Swanö on his Nightingale releases.
‘Unknown Reasons’ is one of my favourite tracks on the album. It
starts with an acoustic intro and turns out to be very catchy, with
strong choruses and harmony vocals all over. It is a song full of
rage and frustration which evolves halfway to a venomous break with
female intervention of Zuzana.
But there
are enough epic moments as well! Only listen to the eight minutes
long track ‘Astral Traveller’, opening the parade with acoustic
guitars, and a dark, sensitive voice. This song has a lingering
construction, mysterious words inspired by the great unfathomable
universe and a saxophone part that reminds me of Pink Floyd. But
this time there are also quite a bit gothic influences in songs like
‘In The Landscape Of Mind’ and ‘Severance’. These could easily come
from an album of a Scandinavian gothic band too. The lyrics react
against the absurdity and hidebound attitude of the society when one
chooses for a predicted life. Everyone should ask themselves why we
are all here and what we are looking for. This thoughtfulness is
reflected in longer tracks as ‘Severance’ and ‘Cross-Road’,
creations which shine brightly by their inspiration and talent. So I
can honestly conclude that ‘Uncommon Excursion’ is more of this
world and less dreamy than its predecessors but even stronger in
compositional way. |
