| The
Review |
You know how some bands flirt with musical styles? They
sort of play some of this and some of that but not enough
to really put them solidly in one category. Well Kopecky is
NOT one of those groups. This trio has their feet firmly planted
in the instrumental prog-metal camp and there is no question
of what you are going to hear on their newest release entitled
Blood. ***
The brothers Kopecky consist of Joe on guitars, William
on bass and Paul on drums and while it may be easy to describe
their musical direction, it would be a mistake to think Blood
is one long shred-fest. It’s not. In fact that is one of the
strengths of having played together since 1999. The music
actually has a lot of variety. The seven compositions fill
up some fifty-seven minutes of music with mostly longer compositions,
the two longest being just over eleven and twelve minutes.
In some of the pieces like the first track, the seven minute
“Garden of Immolation” the guitar is at its crunchiest and
the rhythm is downright intense. But then in track four, “Windows”
the music tends to be somewhat more airy and spacious, although
I hesitate to say lighter. But in context there are many moments
where the songs construction leads the music in some interesting
directions, sound wise. Each of the compositions, short or
long, moves through a series of changes, both in time and
tempo. Its actually quite amazing just how many different
atmospheres Kopecky are able to create between the three instruments,
it’s more varied than you might think and given the style
of music you don’t even miss the keyboards. ***
If you are a fan of guitar-heavy prog-metal Blood is
going to be right up your alley. If by chance you’ve not heard
of Kopecky but are fans of bands such as Leger De Main or
any of the Rodler Brothers side projects like Razer Wire Shrine,
you’ll really enjoy the music here. I’d say for prog-metal
fans Kopecky’s Blood is a must-have CD! ***
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