Poland's Newbreed plays a hybrid of progressive and technical metal, and Child of the Sun is their second album. I haven't heard their prior work, so it's hard to tell how they've evolved, but the depth of the songs on this album definitely attests to the band's creativity and technical prowess.
The album consists of eight songs which all push the nine-minute mark with the exception of the beautiful acoustic piece, "Innocence". With two acoustic guitars contrasting each other, the song stands out for the vocalist's heartfelt croon repeating the line: "Secret lovers that had to die together..." -- this is also a foreshadowing of the album's dark lyrics revolving around themes of sadness, death, and misery.
The remaining seven songs are unadulterated prog metal fury with plenty of technical guitar work and skull-cracking riffery. The band wastes no time introducing themselves as the first few seconds of acoustic guitars on "So Far Away from Here" are replaced by an onslaught of dual guitar riffs, cold in their feel and crushing in their intensity. The technically advanced riff patterns are occasionally brought to a halt by the use of acoustic guitars, jazzy interludes that recall the first Maudlin of the Well album, atonal passages, and Riverside-meets-Opeth type of manipulated vocal parts. Vocalist Tomasz Wolonciej, who also plays guitar, sings in a clean tone without resorting to any growling, but his vocals are often processed to achieve sharper contrasts. Also, there is plenty of radio exercepts and other voiceovers present in the mix. The female voiceovers that precede the jazz-laden technical metal aesthetic on "Horizon" is surely an interesting experiment given the song also comprises ghostly strokes of keyboards and a rather lengthy acoustic passage atop tribal drum beats.
The schizophrenic vocals draped over mathematical guitar work on "By the Sea" form only one portion of the song as it also proceeds through a densely mixed instrumental section replete with complex drum fills and angular guitar chords. It is on this song where Wolonciej recalls Mikael Akerfeldt on the first Opeth album, but the music is far more technical. Although the band has since found their new bassist in Jarek Gacek, the bass work was handled by drummer Stanislaw Wolonciej, who is also responsible for the subdued keyboard elements. Keys are used sparingly throughout the album -- as on the quieter parts of "Green Hill Top" to enhance the atmosphere and achieve a more melodic attribute, which is largely absent on such releases.
The nine-plus-minute instrumental title track signals that there is more to come from these guys if they refine their talents. A mix of razor-sharp guitar harmonies that slice through dense riffing, this is a song with shadowy keys lingering in the background for an unsettling effect.
The production is raw and almost deliberately stifling. It somewhat evokes another Polish band's debut release, April Ethereal's Advent. However, Child of the Sun is far better written and the grip of the songs are much tighter. A cleaner, sharper production might have taken away the energy of these pieces. Still, prog fans who favour a clean sound may have a hard time getting into the album unless they're willing to play it through several times.
Track Listing
- So Far Away from Here
- By the Sea
- Red
- Innocence
- Horizon
- Green Hill Top
- Child of the Sun (Instrumental)
- Butterfly Colours
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