Stos

Man, this sounds a lot like ADX or Sortilege. It’s not a clone of the, by any means, but damn if I don’t think I’m listening to those bands. When I think Polish, I think gruff and rough and maybe a little guttural. Not so here. The vocals have the French range—not too high, mind you. This is not King Diamond or Mysto Dysto screaming. It is pure 80s-range, even if it is 1990.

Again, when I think Poland, it is of a large, muscular man clasping me hard on the shoulder and raising is vodka: “na zdrowie!” and nearly knocking me off my chair. And, you know, in its own way, this music does just that! Even though the guy holding the vodka is a little skinnier.

This album starts out with a high energy and intensity and does not let up. The burly Polish guy dressed in skinny, French clothes, has you in his grasp and holds you tight. And you don’t feel at all dirty. Even though this has some rough and raw edges which only add to its solidity. And again I can’t stop with the ADX/Sortilege comparisons.

But that really isn’t fair, either. These guys are unique in their approach, while still sticking to straight-edged and solid metal. The last two tracks are quite different, and the names are in parentheses, so I’m not sure if they are covers or what. But Ognisty Ptak is a nice mellow ballad that builds into some nice metal/bluesy jamming. Very nice. And Sabat Czarownic sounds like it was off a demo tape or something, but still rocks out.

na zdrowie!