KOPECKY Reviews

"World Music is totally redefined and here played in a heavy refined way. Really good Stuff!"

----- Progressive Newsletter (Germany)

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"…thoughtfully arranged and imaginatively constructed…just a dash of Fracture-era Crimson… heavy grooves in epic cinematic spendor."

----- Progression (USA)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ KOPECKY has been reviewed in the latest issue of Expose' magazine,(#17, May 1999). A live review is on page 14 and studio review is on pages 43 and 44.

"A cosmic blend of Indian traditional influences, mixed together with some heavy metal and space grooves. The music features wailing guitar solos, crunching power chords, moments of solo sitar, agile fretless bass playing, and rock solid drumming."

----- Exposé (USA)

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"… elaborate and sophisticated… a creative disc full of discoveries…"

----- Prog Resiste (Belgium)

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KOPECKY - "Kopecky" - CD
This all-instrumental heavy rock CD is brought to us by the three Kopecky brothers of Wisconsin. While this may seem like a family picnic, it's actually more like an eerie circus of evil audio dementia. It's very musical with excellent melodies and amazing production, yet twisted and spooky. Perhaps this music could be likened to the warped style of Primus and the Melvins, mated with the oddity of "Discipline" era Crimson and heavy ominous vibe of Led Zeppelin. Lots of eastern tinting sitar and metallic death crunch, with occasional industrial-doom sections and hair-raising demonic ambience. Very earthy and organic. Plenty of cool runs, licks, and complexity. And the coolest part, it's all instrumental. Interestingly enough, I've found this CD to capture the attention of heavy prog fans and pop-rock fans alike… and scare them as well! I suspect that you'll be hearing more about these guys real soon. The stuff is bent yet extremely solid, and kicks ass. This and other fine recording are readily available from: HAPI-SKRATCH RECORDS

-----Guitar 2001 Magazine (issue #6, 1999)

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Kopecky - Kopecky. Three brotherss making some of the best instrumental progressive in years. Bill Kopecky's sitar work lends a distinctive middle eastern flavor to the proceedings here. This is as good as anything released on a major progressive label in years.

-----Sea of Tranquility (Volume 4 Number 3 1999)

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Fretless ace (and Scouting Report vet) William Kopecky has joined his two brothers for this soaring set of India-influenced prog rock. William's snaky melodies and burnished tone are two highlights.

-----Bass Player (August 1999)

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Kopecky are a trio hailing, not from some ex-Soviet bloc nation as the name might lead you to infer, but from the frozen steppes of Wisconsin. Their debut CD is an all-instrumental (one track features spoken-word vox) stew of many savory musical ingredients - I can hear Kingston Wall, Tangle Edge, Solaris, and bits of the best neoclassical progressive-metal bubbling to the surface at various points. Not that you should assume that Kopecky is in any way easily classified, because all influences are only that - Kopecky sounds mostly like Kopecky. No show-off soloing here: the compositions all rely on skintight interplay between the three brothers. William's intense and lyrical bassplaying is matched by his stunning sitar work - but don´t shortshrift the powerful drumming of Paul or Joe´s skill on guitar (crunchy and metallic one moment, delicate as a windspun leaf the next). The result is maybe the best heavy-psych album of the year, with enough compositional complexity to satisfy the prog purist. Yet another unheralded gem available at Dan McAvinchey´s excellent Guitar Nine website (www.guitar9.com). Still need another reason to check this out? Mellow Records picked up European distribution for this...when was the last time an unknown American outfit got their attention?

-----Prog-Net (August 1999)

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Here is an article from the Shepherd Express Metro on July 15th. A Milwaukee music paper.

Also, here is an article from Sounding Board from The Journal Times by Patrick Fineran.

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     While listening to their intricate Middle Eastern-seasoned instrumentals punctuated by sitar, one might guess this brotherly trio hails from somewhere a bit more exotic than... Wisconsin, of all places. Because the band weds distorted guitar to Middle-Eastern ambience, I cannot help but think of "Saudi metal" or "Sri Lanka rock" as descriptive (and admittedly clumsy) terms. But note that they cannot be categorized as "prog-metal", which implies a sound more metal than prog; Kopecky is the reverse.

     Bill Kopecky is a demon on the fretless bass, which shares equal time with guitar as a lead melodic instrument. Joe's guitar tone is crisp, crunchy, and his style owes little to standard guitar-hero pyrotechnics. Electronic drums are integrated into the sound without overdoing it; Paul uses them only to color the music when necessary. His approach is refreshing: he's not your usual "boom-crash" drummer merely marking time, nor is he a Portnoyesque double-bass thrasher. His cymbal usage is creative and sometimes reminds me of Bill Bruford's intro to "One More Red Nightmare".

     All compositions save one are instrumental. The structures of most are usually unpredictable, but the price of inventiveness is that it occasionally doesn't work: a couple of pieces do feel a little unresolved. With the exception of a track or two, the album's mood leans toward the darker side. "Sky-Blue Hair" is probably the best example of the signature Kopecky sound, featuring a catchy melody on the bass framed by soaring guitar effects, then interrupted by heavy tangents spiraling off in different directions. To their credit, the disquieting "Birdsong the Color of Pyramids" genuinely works — normally a narrated poem is a surefire recipe for disaster. Using the desert rather than the ocean as its setting, this piece is mildly reminiscent of The Doors' "Horse Latitudes" in its tone and delivery, but not as intense (happily, Joe's voice is Wisconsin-accent-free; otherwise the mood would have been altered). To close, the acutely atmospheric "Al-Aaraaf" leads the listener on a slowly winding sonic journey across the Sahara and up into space. Very highly recommended!

-----Gary Varney (reviewed 7-27-00)