This 2017 album is the debut from ATME, a Wrocław based rock band who could probably be accurately described as progressive in its truest sense as opposed to regressing back into what has come before. The band itself have a standard quartet line-up of Łukasz „Luke” Pawełoszek (vocals), Piotr Guliński (guitars), Adrian Nejman (bass, vocals) and  Paweł Zborowski (drums), but it gets rather more interesting when looking at what the guests bring to bear, which includes female vocals, saxophone, gongs, Tibetan bowls, koshi, didgeridoo and even concha. I kept being reminded of Muse crossed with Porcupine Tree with plenty of jazz influences and some world, but even that isn’t right. When the guys decide to just let rip then it is modern metal with a real groove, but it never stays that way for too long. The music continually shifts and moves, all tied together with great vocals (in English), and space is used as an additional instrument with a very strong part to play, keeping the layers separate and providing additional intensity.

The production is superb, stand up Marek Dziedzic of Uniq Sound Studio, and captures a band both full of confidence and on top of the game. This certainly doesn’t come across as a debut, and definitely doesn’t feel like an independent release either. The digipak CD comes with a full booklet containing all the lyrics, and it is hard to understand why this hasn’t been picked up by a major label for at least distribution if not a full release. Their Facebook page is active, so I can only hope that we will soon get another album from these guys, as this is experimental and daring while also being part of the mainstream and truly needs to be discovered. Listen to “Passing Through The Horizon” and I can ensure you will be enthralled: Progressive rock in the truest sense of the term.
7/10 Kev Rowand