Annalist
Memories

There are people who change in life and others who always stay true to themselves. Even in music, there are bands that like to experiment and change, and others that, once they've found their path, settle on a genre without ever diverging from it.

The Annalist, Polish band from Warsaw to be more specific, began back in 1991 offering in their two demos “Over The Northland” and “Ad Patris” music that was mostly reminiscent of the classic progressive death metal that was particularly thriving at that time.

However, with their first full length, things radically changed; these four guys effectively abandoned extreme metal to dedicate themselves to a more sober and elegant progressive rock, where doom reminiscences occasionally surface (to be understood in the manner of Black Sabbath) along with references to gothic metal when it comes to the keyboard parts.

Reaching this first album, “Memories”, it’s noticeable how they, despite all possessing great technical qualities, prefer to express themselves as a group, not too often showcasing their individual abilities, except in brief solos offered from time to time.

The platter is divided into 10 episodes of varying duration, with extremes ranging from the 3 minutes and 5 seconds of “Thorn In The Heart” to the almost 13 minutes of the suite “Lunacy”, for a total of 53 minutes of extremely atmospheric and emotion-rich music.

The most significant moments of the album can be found in the first song, “Strange Voice From The Past” where the various previously mentioned musical influences coexist, all set in an extremely sad and gray atmosphere (it reminded me at times, with the due differences, of the beautiful Pioggia… January Tunes by Novembre). Also worth mentioning is the second “Falling Down”, a very delicate track almost entirely acoustic, featuring in the first part a keyboard theme repeated at length, over which guitars move and Robert Srzednicki's delicate voice. The second half of the piece, while still moving in very relaxed territories, presents all the instruments continuing the song to the end. The final result is excellent.

Another highlight is, in my personal opinion, “Thorn In The Heart”, where a very delicate harpsichord makes its appearance, softening the atmosphere considerably, this time decidedly darker than the previously cited episode. Robert’s voice this time becomes lower, opting for an interpretation that communicates unease.

A bass/keyboards duet instead opens what I, the writer, consider the best song of the whole cd, I am referring to “All Things Must Pass”, where the musicians display all their instrumental capability, opting for odd rhythms, complex solos, yet all following a melodic line of great taste and elegance. An excellent instrumental that stands out as one of the added values of the album, along with the suite “Lunacy”, which exploits its length to continually change rhythms, atmospheres, allowing the band to perform musical acrobatics of great impact. The track is definitely the one most influenced by ‘70s progressive, with many typical genre clichés making an appearance.

The rest of the album flows pleasantly but without infamy and without praise, winning the listener's favor but not making them scream for a miracle, except for the final part of "Isabel" where the musicians engage in a jam with strong jazz recalls, especially as regards the piano work.

The only real flaw of the album unfortunately proves to be the really poor mixing and recording quality, with never too clear sounds that make some instrumental passages unclear, which, if listened to with better quality, could have elevated the platter to an excellent product; despite this, however, it's impossible not to praise the Annalist for the work done, hoping that the next work receives better production that allows them to express themselves at best.

Tracklist:

1) Strange Voice From The Past

2) Falling Down

3) Spirit

4) The Farthest Shore

5) Thorn In The Heart

6) All Things Must Pass

7) Lunacy

8) The Eye Of Seracos

9) Forgive And Forget

10) Isabel

Line up

Robert Srzednicki - vocals, electric and acoustic guitars, piano

Krzysztof Wawrzak - bass guitar, vocals

Bartek Go³embnik – keyboards

Artur Szolc - drums, percussion