Amarok – “Hope” | Progressive Rock Central.com

Bad Dog Promotions pulled another rabbit out of the hat. This time they found another spectacular band from Eastern Europe. Amarok is a Polish band who have already released seven albums. On April 5, 2024, Amarok released their eighth album Hope; and it is simply spectacular!

As the vigil and waiting continues for the release of Mission Jupiter’s new album, Hope gives us, just that. That there is more coming out from Eastern Europe before the end of the year.

Amarok is a Polish band, founded in 1999, and made up of guitarist, multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Michał Wojtas, and guitarist Bartosz Jackowski. The band was originally a duet, but now they have evolved into a four piece, adding, Marta Wojtas, who sings vocals and writes lyrics; Konrad Zieliński, who plays drums; and Kornel Popławski, who plays bass and violin.

The new recordings for Hope, were attended by such acclaimed artists as Colin Bass (Camel), Mariusz Duda (Riverside, Lunatic Soul) and others. Amarok have played live on the same stage with Nick Mason (Pink Floyd), Gazpacho, Bjørn Riis, Riverside and other famous bands.

This album is absolutely a delight to listen to, from beginning to end. You are challenged with catchy melodies and lyrics, which will keep you intrigued and interested while listening with headphones. You will be uplifted, by the message of their lyrics, despite the trenches of fear and sadness they often enter.

Hope is a definitely a wonder to behold, and one of the best albums I have heard from Eastern Europe since Mission Jupiter’s epic Talk to Me.

The album opens with the title track, “Hope”, and wow, will this one blow you away from the start! The music gets started with some bluesy, Zeppelin – like guitars, then cool keyboards and spacey orchestration, reminding me so much of Mission Jupiter. Then, Marta sings, “Hope cuts through the air. Like a knife blade. Akin to wings. Lifts you up. It returns in repeating pulses. Growing on trust and faith. Hope appears when its absence. Finds understanding”. Then, Kornel Popławski sings, “Enfold me now. Take control. Feed my flow. Turn me on”. Marta returns, “Hope is a leap into the unknown. Shakes the present out of its ruts. Make a step out of the line. Towards this vast primal force. Enfold me now. Take control. Feed my flow. Turn me on. If in the darkest hour. I could still imagine there’s a light I could re-charge with its power”. Then after a blistering cool Pink Floyd-like guitar solo, Marta starts the count down, “Ten. Nine. Eight. Seven. Six. Five. Four. Three. Two. One!” Wow, what an excellent opener! One of the strongest songs on the album.

“Stay Human”, opens with a cool wandering electric guitar, balanced well with the eerie sounds of the theremin. It is an electric dream scape, that you do not want to leave. Especially when they add the keyboards and choirs. One of the best songs from Eastern Europe, since Mission Jupiter’s epics. The lyrics are some of the best on the album. Michal, Kornel, and Marta sing, as Konrad keeps pace with the drums, “In the dark matter. Stay human. In the age of fake. Stay human, human. You walk astray, you lose the faith. Alike humans. Allow yourself . To be yourself. Free from strain. In another breath. Stay human, human. With the confidence. You regained. Stay carefree. You’ve got the dreams. In your genes. Anti-routine. Stay carefree. Not perfectly. You walk astray, you lose the faith. Alike humans, humans”. Warm consultation to live by. Echoing Dylan Thomas famous words, to, “not go gentle into that good night,”. Maintain your humanity! Thank you for this song. An anthem to humanity, if we are willing to listen. Another of the best songs on the album.

“Insomnia”, is full of wonderful piano and keyboards, after the solo lead electric guitar opening with orchestration. Michal sings, “These nights are sleepless. No light. They boost my weakness”, to soft bass, violin and cello. Michael continues, “Inside. In whispers and in prayers. I hope to have no fear. For what is to appear. Will bring peace to my mind. This gloom seems endless. No sight. I’m longing for a daylight. In doubts. I’m scared of falling. I’m scared of the void, the raising walls. I’m scared of farewells, that leave cold. I’m scared of myself. I’m scared of despair, lost control”. We all have fears and we all need to overcome them, through confrontation, or visualizing their inability to prevent us from achieving what we want in life, no matter how difficult it may seem. A great reminder of the ideas espoused on Peter Gabriel’s “Darkness” song; off his Up album.

“Trail”, opens, this time with keyboards and drums, instead of guitar. Marta adds djembe and gong, to help add elegance to the piece. The pulsating beat is magnetic. Michal sings, inspired lyrics, “Take this chance again. You’ve got a home somewhere. On the shifting sands. Don’t let them blur the trace. Learn to read the signs. Reveal what’s left unsaid. Walk and look ahead. No one can stop you. Go on. Against all odds! Into the skyline! You see your aim. You feel the rain. Now you understand. Value the way. Enjoy the trail. It lets you evolve”. The trail of life, or the trail that life leads us on. Enjoy it, don’t always fight it. There is a reason for everything you encounter. Wise lyrics with a kind meaning. Konrad Zieliński’s constant pacing drums, are the perfect path to follow. Then they add a power guitar reflection, which reminds me a little of some of Sylvan’s guitar soloing or The Ocean’s Holocene. Both of which I love. This is yet another of the best songs on the album.

“Welcome”, opens with cool sound effects and orchestration. As well as more of that wonderful djembe and gong. Michal, Marta and Kornel take turns singing the powerful lyrics, “Welcome to the mighty nation. Feel invited to the tribe. Drifting to its destination. With no borders, splits, and wars. Living in the fourth dimension. As we used to call the time. Unfamiliar with frustration. Let’s be brave and bright and braw. Welcome to the mighty nation. Seek a vision of your life . With the conscious motivation. Drawing comfort from the crowd. Stars belong to constellations. And we watch them every night. We still need affirmation. To stop starring at the Sun. No matter when you have been born. Regardless of where you come from. Despite you knowing where to go. Dare to turn back the river flow. And if you feel this wind can blow. Just follow him and let us know”. The meanings and tempo of this one reminds me of a toned down version of Tool’s “Invincible”, off Fear Inoculum. Which is an excellent and powerful song.

“Queen”, opens with slow percussion and soft bass strings. Kornel Popławski, sings primary vocals here, “My deep bond with the screen. Turned off the primal scream. And that’s the way the wheel goes round. The matter of machines. Consumed my precious dreams. And all I wish ebbs like the tide. I must have met the queen. Who overthinks within. And I lost myself in her pride. Her gaze is cold like steel. Brings loneliness I feel. She wants to keep me hypnotized. Despite this rough routine. I’ve got a gentle skin. A new identity to find I’m somewhere in between. The AI, clouds, and green. I need my feet both on the ground”. A tough song regarding the loss of control of our world through AI and the screens which now seem to rule our lives. The violin solos from Kornel and his lap steel guitar work, set this track above some of the others. Deep and at times depressing, but so is the thought of giving over control to AI and computers, of our lives.

“Perfect Run”, is just that! A perfect song for jogging. Like Sylvan’s “Viral”, it has a pace that is so attractive and magnetizing. The keyboards are also excellent, as is the programming, orchestration and electric guitar work. Simply mesmerizing in all corners of the mind.

“Don’t Surrender”, opens with soft piano and a backing soundscape. Michal sings heroically, “Don’t back away when you misplay. Every failure is a gate. A twist of fate, coincidence. Or a key to understand. So don’t surrender. Cause it’s too tender. The more exposed, the more surprised. Be like water, water is wise. Open the door – your fragile mind. There’s no need to look behind. Take your turn. Dare to dive. With this wisdom. Fluidly flow. Stand up for yourself .Waters flow. Takes off all obstacles. Water cares for all living beings without bias. But also drown cities, forms abysses. Water permeates everything, everywhere”. Be like water, never surrender. Some of Michal’s cleanest vocals and lyrics with the most impact. At times he even sounds a little like Paul McCartney. Now there’s a compliment, well deserved.

“Simple Pleasures”, opens with birdsong and the neighing of horses. Then, beautiful, deep and soft upright piano enters the soundscape. Michal sings, “The break of dawn. Another day. But still, hold on to the bliss. It’s in the simple pleasures. In the missing time together. And I know it is now or never. Stay strong, take a breath, enjoy. Quench the thirst, taste your own choice”. Marta and Michal join, in a duet, “In the simplest form”. Michal continues, “In the minimum. So please stay. Don’t hide away. Get together. Still enslaved, still alone. We strive to meet together. The night is falling. All tears dried off. Don’t go away, astray. For the dimness is close. Nevertheless, we are lights to ourselves. Now and forever we’re free. And I sense you, I see you. I hear you, I feel”. The Gilmour-like guitar soloing is amazing, as is the harmonium, violin, and cello sounds. But it is the piano that stands out to me.

“Dolina”, is sung in Polish, so I do not know what Michal is singing. But is sounds great. The keyboards, harmonium, and violin accompany Michal as he sings, “Wisam z nadzieją by znów zobaczyć ją Dziką polanę lub cud, dolinę łąk Wołam do Ciebie i drzew, do saren, mchów Oko w oko, choć z oddali Tak związani Przebiegam dolinę wpół drogą na wschód Na skraju lasy, z dwóch stron jeleni ród Oko w oko, choć z oddali Ciągle sami Tak związani Czekaj gdy powrócę do twych Zamglonych traw, darmowych łask”.

Album Track List:

Hope Is 4:44
Stay Human – 5:52
Insomnia – 6:06
Trail – 7:07
Welcome – 5:16
Queen – 5:15
Perfect Run – 5:50
Don’t Surrender – 7:00
Simple Pleasures – 7:34
Dolina – 3:09

Hope was recorded at Sonus Studio 07.2023 (drums), Amarok Studio Format: CD, 2LP (Black, Bronze Evening, 2023/2024 (vocal, guitars, keyboard, upright piano, theremin, Pearl Marble, Red Butterfly) percussion, programming), Kornel’s studio 2023/2024 (Kornel’s Style: Progressive Rock/Art Rock vocal, bass, violin, cello, harmonium, djembe, percussion) Country: Poland Mixed by Michał Wojtas at Amarok Studio 2023/2024 Label: OSKAR Records. Hope was mastered by Robert Szydło 02.2024. The album art for Hope was created by Kacper Kwiatkowski. Album photo by Kacper and Justyna Kwiatkowscy @sundaykacper. Album art model: Patrycja Ciołko @patrycja.ciolko. Band photography by Eliza Krakówka. Vinyl layout by Alex Ivanov, interagency. Hope was mixed by Michal Wojtas, and mastered by Robert Szydło.

Hope, is just that. A full album of overcoming all of the maladies which influence and try to ruin our daily lives. But Michal and Amarok, continuously give good counsel throughout this magnificent epic album. Easily my favorite album to come from Eastern Europe this year, so far. As I mentioned I am still holding a place for my favorite band from the East, Mission Jupiter. But Michal, Marta, Konrad, and Kornel have crafted a fine piece of music here, which I can only believe will age well like great wine. They have asked for and have been given good counseling by leaders in the field of prog from Colin Bass and Mariusz Duda; and it has only enhanced this album to its maximum level of sound experience. I look forward to their nineth album with anticipation. I hope to talk with them soon about the wonderful Hope they have provided to me and others who experience this album, in its entirety!

Band Website and Social Media Links:

Website: https://amarok.pl

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amarokofficial

X: https://twitter.com/Amarok_project

Bandcamp: https://amarokmusic.bandcamp.com/music

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amarok_music

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJFD4Ki0xwdOyzYzKShMYIA

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7wzRaLHNSWIG8ZHK2hQljt

YouTube and Music Video Links:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJFD4Ki0xwdOyzYzKShMYIA