Jelonek – Jelonek (2007)

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All the way from Poland today we get Jelonek, the ‘side project’ from violinist Michal Jelonek of Hunter fame. The music of this band is another attempt at fusing classical music with metal/rock elements and create an enjoyable mixture of the two genres while not sounding overly ordinary. Comparisons to Apocalyptica, Elend, Agizia and Ulytau come immediately to our heads but Jelonek easily stands out and cannot be called a cheap clone of these bands.

With no vocals, Jelonek’s self-titled debut album manages to immerse the listener into the beauty of classical music paired with (sometimes) powerful drumming and distorted guitar. This band is different to Apocalyptica in the sense that it approaches music more ‘classically’ then them but at sometimes they sound just like them (i.e. “Machinehat”).

Michal Jelonek’s ability to play the violin is undisputed in this release and since it’s kind of the ‘main focus’ of the music it just caries the full album on its shoulders. The use of classical pieces in order to craft ‘new’ songs is very creative and makes the music have that familiar sound to it while still maintaining the Jelonek signature.

Like we mentioned before, the similarities to Elend and Angizia are there, but since Jelonek does not use vocals some people might miss them. With songs like the ones presented on this self-titled release we love that there aren’t any vocals ruining them. The quality of the music it-self is what would drive us to buy this album regardless of the band/person/whatever behind it.

All instruments are very meticulously placed to enhance the sound of this release and we would only dream to ever be able to see them perform live with ALL the elements used in this album. In terms of overall sound, Jelonek does sound a lot like Kazakh Ulytau without their ‘local folk’ influences and if you have a chance to check them out, you will notice some striking similarities.

Overall, we love anything with classical influences/elements and Jelonek’s first album is now right there in our top ten lists of Neo-classical Metal releases. If you are looking for something more diverse and ‘classical’ than Apocalypica, check Jelonek out and be prepared to start enjoying truly elaborate Neo-classical music.

Band: Jelonek Album: Jelonek
Label: Mystic Production

Release: 2007

Official Site myspace
Genre: Neo-classical Progressive Metal/Rock

Country: Poland

Rating: 90/100
Year: 
Label: 

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