Melodic metal band LATE from Bratislava, Slovokia was originally founded as strictly an instrumental project in 2012 by guitarist Patrik Kovar and drummer Jan (Janci) Hyza. They wanted to bring something new to the Slovakian metal scene through sophisticated composition, namely, blending concepts and changes in tempo, rhythm and mood. Since their inception, the lineup has had many shakeups but eventually second guitarist Michal Ziak and bassist Martin (Vaco) Vacula joined and were able to start building a proper demo. However, the band were no longer strictly instrumental after the hiring of Lukas (Puky) Mikulsky as their singer in 2016.

The band finally released their first single from their demo "Unending Thread" in October 2017. This track is welcomed as a bonus track and is arguably the second best song on the record. The band have been hard at work in the Slovakian live scene and won Clash of the Bands in 2018 which netted them a slot on Slovakia's biggest festival, Topfest 2019. This, their full-length debut "The One and I", was then recorded at Polish studio Serakos - famous for being progressive rock's RIVERSIDE main studio - in September 2019. The album's philosophical lyrics deal with knowing oneself as an individual and arguing about the mission of man as such. Lead single "The Artifical and the Savior", however, deviates from this theme and deals with a singular sci-fi/rock opera theme around specific characters. It's reminiscent of DREAM THEATER's Metropolis Pt.1 or COHEED AND CAMBRIA lyrical faire and in my opinion, easily the most ambitious and best track.

The production on this album is slick, powerful and works well for the use of heavy 7-string guitars and low-tuned bass. There are plenty of semi-djentiess that it gets close but never quite sounds like PERIPHERY. It's much more melodic and less ground down in the heavy chugginess of low-tuned, heavily syncopated riffage. Its gets adventurous at times and many of those times pay off, such as when the guitarist adds a bit of "wah" effect instead of a feature, quick tempo shifts, using both clean and distorted guitars as a curious blend and a vocalist not afraid to try using his voice in interesting ways. There were times in which the guitar parts were truly inspired, only to move on to another riff so quickly you don't have a chance to enjoy banging your head. I have to give props to Puky for singing in English when it is obvious it is not his mother tongue. His vocals, however, are only slightly tinged with an accent and compliment the music so well that I am glad that someone was smart and put him so forward in the mix, unlike many other recent releases that unfortunately bury their vocalist with effects.

But, unfortunately, overall, it's a bit of rough, first effort. Most of the solos are amazing but sometimes you will get to the end of track expecting this blazing guitar solo and get a bluesy, almost lazy guitar solo when the song deserves so much more. The time/tempo changes seem to come from nowhere, all instruments simply stop and begin a new riff/rhythm/tempo/feel/etc. at times with seemingly little connective tissue between them all. It could almost be described as a "kitchen sink" kind of record with so many riffs/sections coming and going but they seem to have more to give. I feel as though they have more tricks up their sleeve they just need to polish it, refine it, hone those crazy skills and I think they will have a second effort that could blow the progressive/melodic metal community away.