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Review:
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The world of progressive-metal music continues to be
a very crowded place, with more bands popping up each and
every day. Well, here’s another band to keep an eye out
for…they’re called Votum and they hail out of Poland. Formed
in 2003 Time Must Have a Stop is their first full length
CD release. Votum is made up of six members; Maciej Kosinski
(vocals), Alek Salamonik (guitar), Adam Kaczmarek (guitar),
Zbigniew Szatkowski (keyboards), Baartek Turkowski (bass)
and Adam Lukaszek (drums). You’ll no doubt notice twin guitars
in the lineup and you would be correct in assuming that
plays a major role in defining the signature sound of the
band.
There are eight tracks on Time Must Have a Stop that
run from 4:28 to 10:50 with most of the others in the 6-minute
range. The music itself is unmistakably in the prog-metal
category, the guitars are ever-present providing the crunchy
drive. That said, whereVotum distinguish themselves are
with some varied arrangements. Many of the tracks like “The
Pun” [5:09] allow for not only the twin guitar melee but
leave room at times for more mellow sections that build
tension or provide a kind of musical relief. The other thing
you’ll notice regarding the instrument usage and production
is that Votum create a BIG sound, most noticeable on “Passing
Scars” [4:28]. They create a grand and majestic, almost
anthemic feel in their music. Votum has a dedicated keyboardist
and certainly you hear a variety of keyboard sounds sprinkled
throughout although it rarely takes a prominent role, it’s
more a solid support, providing atmosphere, strings or synth
pads. The closest it comes to standing out would be the
piano styled opening of “Train Back Home” [6:02]. And I
guess that’s a stylistic element worth noting, that is that
Votum do provide some sonic ups and downs in their music.
There may be more aggressive moments but they’re not afraid
to pull back and mellow out a bit from time to time.
So if you are a fan of the musical style created by
bands such as Riverside my guess is you’ll find a lot to
enjoy with Votum’s first release Time Must Have a Stop.
www.jerrylucky.com
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