This is the sixth full-length album in the twenty-year existence of OSADA VIDA. They are a groundbreaking Heavy/Prog Outfit from Poland. They have been highly acclaimed since their humble beginnings in 1997 in their native Poland. For those who ask, Osada Vida is also the name of a harmonious small village in the area of Benin. It's a very remote village, far from civilization where peace and harmony are the only laws.

This is the first album to feature Marcel Lisiak as lead vocalist. He replaces the departed Mark Majewsi. The new singer is the brother of bassist Lukasz. This is already the third singer in the history of the band. This new departure was mostly caused by long-distance problems, Mark Majewski lived far away from the rest of the band and it was too much to bare and there was the eventual split unfortunately.

The new album is called "Variomatic" for a reason. It's a mixed bag of a number of styles, no song is the same and they branch out to different genres throughout this album. Is it really a departure from their previous efforts? Not exactly. With the addition of Marcel Lisiak, the band seems more complete. I was able to listen to a lot of their older material and Marcel is by far my favorite singer. His vocal styling adds a lot of depth to the band nonetheless. The opening song gives the listener a sign of things to come. I was not expecting some saxophone but it added a whole dimension to the sound of the band. The production value (even when listening to only the first few notes of the album) is very good and they took the time and it definitely shows.

The album itself marks a bit of a revolution for the band. They seem to be able to transcend and truly show their unique musicianship. Sometimes it's more rock, sometimes its Spaced-Out Prog but sometimes it reminds me of the endless boundaries of Jazz. It really goes from one style to another without missing a beat. You have the incredible guitar riffs that dominate the song "Fire Up" but you also have some masterful classical guitar on the underrated ''The Line''. You have some wicked instrumental songs like "The Crossing" and "Good Night Return" that gives you a break between songs. The album is like the moving pieces of a Broadway Play. I guess the instrumental offerings gives the audience the time to breather between songs and I thought it was a nice touch. The cello work on the last song "Nocturnal" is top notch, they invited a world class cellist named Wojciech Skora and he does a masterful job and adds so much that an already awesome final song.

The second part of the album is definitely smoother, especially with "Catastrophic" that is the slowest song of the album. It's probably the weakest song of the album but you have something for everyone one this album. The album is various (pun intended) and its influences and hopefully this album won't go under the radar. They have made their mark in Poland and hopefully their music will transcend the rest of Europe and branch out. They have been at it for over twenty years and continually get out fun and interesting albums in the Prog Rock scene. No album is the same, they try different things and experiment, they are not afraid of trying something new and I thought this album was one of the more interesting I have heard in the Prog Scene this year. I highly recommend this band to any true fan of the genre! <