UNITY – Almost There (2017)
UNITY is a melodic hard rock band hailing from an unusual country for this genre; Poland. Released tomorrow February 3, “Almost There” is the title of the band’s second record but the first internationally exposed, with English lyrics.
Created in 2011 by the ‘unity’ of vocalist Piotr “Zinny” Zaleski and skilled guitarist Maciek Papalski, the duo recorded an EP album containing radio-ready catchy songs in the classy melodic hard rock mold. After some successful gigs the next step was a full length album.
The record was well received in East Europe, and then “Zinny” & Papalski strated to think a more world-wide approach for Unity, recruiting some of the most promising young musicians from the local scene.
With a polished production, “Almost There” is the vehicle for Unity to enter into the international melodic rock world.
Song-wise Unity are strongly influenced by the American ’80s scene, however in terms of sound there’s a clear Euro feeling as well, from the German, Scandinavian and Italian camp.
The band try to get their own touch mixing the golden era stylings with a more ‘modern’ approach that makes the final result extremely enjoyable from start to finish.
The opening tune of “You’re My Bad Dream” sounds like it ‘jumped’ out from the third Winger album. It’s a powerful and very technical hard rock gem and a track that impressed me from the beginning. Zinny’s vocals are very close to Kip Winger all over the record, and Papalski riffs are strong with nice flourishes akin Vito Bratta.
Next “Rosie” is a pure late ’80s melodic rocker plenty of melodic guitars, keyboards and a catchy rhythm, then in “Bad Reputation” we are dealing with yet another very Winger-esque tune skillfully arranged.
“Angels” is a beautiful crafted acoustic midtempo / semi-ballad track, while in “Summer Nights” the band delivers, once again, a solid song with a catchy chorus in it with a bit of Lynch Mob in style.
There’s some recent Europe / Norum influences on “No More Lies”, then “American Beauty” features more groove (the Richie Kotzen influences are obvious…), and last number “About Last Night”, a slow acoustically filled track, brings to mind some Ugly Kid Joe material in this vein.
Unity is a more than promising new band in the international melodic hard rock field, delivering a truly solid record in “Almost There”. Very strong songwriting, musicianship and production, accent-free vocals and an overall bright production – mastered by Maor Appelbaum (Dokken, Adrenaline Mob) in California.
Highly Recommended
01. You’re My Bad Dream
02. Rosie
03. Bad Reputation
04. Angels
05. The Dreamer
06. Summer Nights
07. No More Lies
08. City of Hope
09. American Beauty
10. About Last Night
Piotr “Zinny” Zaleski (vocals)
Maciek Papalski (guitars)
Adam Pierzchala (bass)
Dominik Roslon (keyboards)
Lukasz Chmielinski (drums)
BUY IT !
www.rvprecords.com/store-unity.php
.
