WHITE CROW – In A Forgotten Play

High class Progressive Metal from Poland – nothing less is what White Crow deliver. For four years the band has been together almost in the current lineup and released their first effort as an independent production in 2005 named Creatio Ex Nihilo. The band financed 1.000 copies and received good reviews from various parts of the world. Of course, after such a success they could not stop, so in 2007 the band returned to the studio to record their sophomore effort, In A Forgotten Play. It took over a year before they were noticed by a label, in this case Insanity Records. Finally, at the end of 2008, the album saw an advancement in distribution and is available now through regular channels.

And rightfully so, as White Crow absolutely deliver the Progressive goods. In A Forgotten Play can boast to have everything a Progressive Metal fan wants from a record. First, there is great musicianship with enough complexity to find details and indulge in skillfully written and executed  pieces of various length. The compositions do not have to hide when compared to some of the great masters of the genre, and while listening to the album big names like Dream Theater and their playfulness like, Symphony X with their emotional intensity, Balance Of Power’s melodious prowess and Threshold’s outstanding arrangements come to mind. And for a Metal fan, although the keyboards are very important to the sound of White Crow, there is enough room for the six string to put a smile on one’s face.

Secondly, the vocal performance does not leave anything to be desired either. Singer Maciej Klasinski’s clear, powerful voice is joined in several songs by the female voice of Joanna Lysek, adding depths and feeling to the songs. Every prog connoisseur knows how much an album can suffer if a good band did not manage to find an adequate singer, and many an album has been wished to have been purely instrumental instead of being destroyed by a mediocre or bad voice. This is not the case with In A Forgotten Play, on the contrary.

Highlights are many to be found, as none of the eight songs plus five short instrumental interludes fail to capture the listener. The heart of the album is the last song, “The Last Sunrise” which clocks in at almost fourteen minutes and exhibits the same catchiness and drama as Symphony X’s masterpiece “Paradise Lost”. This track will not let any proggy heart unmoved, and needs to be mentioned as one of the best tracks of 2008.

Nothing but a recommendation to purchase this excellent album can end this review. Such a fresh, good and professional young band needs to be supported, and it is well worth the effort to try and find it, even if it is probably a bit more difficult judged by the fact that Insanity Records is a rather young label still on its way up.