Axis Mundi - "demo(n)SEX"

Not bad but requires more work (and re-recording) (3/10) This is a regular rock album. The band knows what their instruments are for. The melodies could be more interesting, but this is a personal thing. The best track is no. 5, "Psyhe", an instrumental tune with great twisted bass-driven rhythms. All the lyrics are in Polish, and they are not bad, at least these fragments that I managed to hear and understand. And this is the main problem with this album - it sounds like it was recorded on a cassette recorder from the 80s and then ripped and encoded to 32 kbit mp3 files. The quality of the sound is far below the border of listenability (as long as we are talking about listening for fun). If it was decently recorded, I'd probably give it 5 or 6, but in it's current state it's not worth a (repeated) listen. The album has been released on Jamendo and is available for downloading in mp3 or ogg format.

ajk - "Uratowac resztke mnie cz. 2 (akt 2: Czlowiek w swej wielkosci, Dezintegracja)"

Decent lyrics wrapped in bad music and delivered with weak voice (4/10) ajk is a singer from Poland. Wszystkie utwory i teksty: ajk Projekt okładki i produkcja: tasaLin Like I already wrote in the other review, this artist is not a bad lyricist. So it's a pity his lyrics are illustrated with such uninteresting or even ugly (a terrible track no. 1) music. He is also a rather lousy vocalist, singing - or in fact reciting - without passion and sometimes almost out-of-tune. To sum it up: waste of time. Maybe he should think about publishing poems instead? The album has been released on Jamendo and is available for downloading in mp3 or ogg format.

SaReGaMa - "Lucky Number 7" [SP]

Ethnic jazz masterpiece (10/10) Ethnic Jazz with percussions, jews harp, guitar, sax and clarinet. The track is in 7/8 beat, thus the name - Lucky Number 7. The saxophone, clarinet and guitar are played by Hamelin Bérengnier. This track is a part of Triplexity's album Between Light and Shadow. The theme is based on classical Arabic scales and inspired by Armenian folk and Balkan music. ٧ is arabic 7 The audio quality of music offered on Jamendo in best case reaches 190 kbps, which is quite reasonable for evaluational purposes but definitely not enough to experience the richness of original sound (1411 kbps). If you'd like to feel how this music sounds for real you can obtain a lossless FLAC versionof this album on my website. Another masterpiece by SaReGaMa and Hamelin. This time it's ethnic jazz and as always in case of a collaboration of these two individuals - it's perfect. Arabic and Balkan rhythms mixed with jazzy solos and a catchy leading melody. This is very sophisticated music, yet it's light as a breeze. It enters your head (or your soul, if you're into religion) and refuses to leave. It reminds me of great Polish jazz band Mazzoll & Arrhythmic Perfection. If you like Mazzoll, you'll love "Lucky Number 7". Thank you for this musical feast. You can also obtain a lossless FLAC versionof this album from the artist's website for a small donation.

Royalty-free music for professional licensing [Artist's website]

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Rebolt - "Made In Spite" [EP] (bonus edition)

Nice hard rock EP with two unnecessary bonuses (6/10) «Made In Spite EP» is Rebolt’s first official release. It includes four original hard hitting rock tunes in the rock/metal vein. This is the bonus version, with two songs recorded in 2007. Despite their mixed backgrounds, the members of the Norwegian band came together for one single reason: The love for old fashioned heavy metal and hard rock! The songs featured on their debut EP is a humble batch of rock’n’roll which has got both soul and playfulness written all over it. In short, it is an honest attempt to make the audience dig up their air guitars and put their pedals to the metal (although rather not at the same time!). It was the guitar riffs and solos, the big choruses and the unpretentious joy of bands such as AC/DC, Rose Tattoo and Iron Maiden which lead to the foundation of Rebolt during the winter of 2004. The band had previously recorded two four-track demos under the ad-hoc name of Powerage back in 2004 and 2005. Although they were both crammed with impressive tunes, the sound quality of these early recordings left much to be desired. This time around there were much more studio time at hand, a fact which without doubt reveals itself on the refined finished product. The guitar sounds better than ever, the drums are solid and powerful, the bass is dense and rocksteady and the shining vocals are as dynamic and energetic as they are on stage. The sum of it all is a cliché, but still spot on: this is hard hitting as hell!

Royalty-free music for professional licensing [Artist's Website]

Here's my review of the main EP:

It's extremely conservative classic rock. No traces of originality here. But the band knows how to play, they are very energetic and full of enthusiasm. They do not discover new lands or cross any borders, but if you like classic rock, you should enjoy their recording. The tracks 2 & 3 are the best, the first track is the worst, because it is too obviously crafted with the charts in mind.

And here's my review of the bonus tracks:

This time energy and technical skills does not compensate for complete lack of originality. The more so, their energy seems to be almost exhausted. They are fast and loud but somehow I felt like they were tired and the music lost its power and charm.

However, if somebody likes classic hard rock just because it's hard rock and is not discouraged by the album's derivativeness, he can check it out.

SUPPORT INDEPENDENT ARTISTS If you like this album and you can afford it, consider supporting the artist by making a donation.

Rebolt - "Made In Spite" [EP]

Classic to the bone (7/10) «Made In Spite EP» is Rebolt’s first official release. It includes four original hard hitting rock tunes in the rock/metal vein. Despite their mixed backgrounds, the members of the Norwegian band came together for one single reason: The love for old fashioned heavy metal and hard rock! The songs featured on their debut EP is a humble batch of rock’n’roll which has got both soul and playfulness written all over it. In short, it is an honest attempt to make the audience dig up their air guitars and put their pedals to the metal (although rather not at the same time!). It was the guitar riffs and solos, the big choruses and the unpretentious joy of bands such as AC/DC, Rose Tattoo and Iron Maiden which lead to the foundation of Rebolt during the winter of 2004. The band had previously recorded two four-track demos under the ad-hoc name of Powerage back in 2004 and 2005. Although they were both crammed with impressive tunes, the sound quality of these early recordings left much to be desired. This time around there were much more studio time at hand, a fact which without doubt reveals itself on the refined finished product. The guitar sounds better than ever, the drums are solid and powerful, the bass is dense and rocksteady and the shining vocals are as dynamic and energetic as they are on stage. The sum of it all is a cliché, but still spot on: this is hard hitting as hell!

Royalty-free music for professional licensing [Artist's Website]

It's extremely conservative classic rock. No traces of originality here. But the band knows how to play, they are very energetic and full of enthusiasm. They do not discover new lands or cross any borders, but if you like classic rock, you should enjoy their recording. The tracks 2 & 3 are the best, the first track is the worst, because it is too obviously crafted with the charts in mind.

SUPPORT INDEPENDENT ARTISTS If you like this album and you can afford it, consider supporting the artist by making a donation.

KraftiM - "BackVieW"

Too ambient for me (6/10) Hmmm... It's definitely an interesting effort, but somehow it doesn't appeal to me. I liked the following tracks: 1 Danik; 2 Caragon & 8 Fratatag. The others were: a) too experimental (5 BiLena - I hated backward recitations mixed with a classical melody here) b) too ambient and calm (6 Drong - not much is happening throughout the track - IMHO the artist failed to create the mood and atmosphere - the result is boring) c) uncreative (7 Adaschu - a Schubert's cover without any interesting idea for changing the master's work). Ambient seems to be an easy genre, but in my opinion it's one of the most difficult, because there is only a thin line between meditation and sleep. It requires a great talent to be able to measure silence, repetitions and long static passages in such way that the listeners fall into a state of ecstasy and not into a coma. KraftiM chose the right ingredients on three tracks, so he is definitely an artist to be watched. Of course, if one is a dedicated fan of ambient in any form, he may love the whole album. It is a professional recording, not an amateurish demo.

Royalty-free music for professional licensing [Myspace]

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The Motyw (Wojciech Wszelaki) - "Release The Beat" [EP]

Nice techno / trance recording (7/10) "Release the Beat" - this is my tribute to techno and derivatives of this musical genre. It's so my steppingstone - music to dance and to listen. I recommend! It's a simple techno / trance recording. Nothing too spectacular, but well crafted and quite catchy and entertaining, if one likes straightforward techno. The best track for me is no. 03 - really energetic as hell. I definitely prefer this artist's techno side, than his synthpop productions. But it's probably just me, as I'm not too enthusiastic about synthpop in general. [Artist's website]

Royalty-free music for professional licensing