RSM - Awakening - Song Review - Progressive Rock from Łódź, Poland
Today we are featuring a promising progressive rock project, RSM, from Łódź, Poland. I have reviewed their debut single, Awakening, along with its character, style, story, potential, and more.
RSM is a personal project of an incredibly talented artist and producer Rafał Szewczyk, who started his professional career back in the 90s. "Awakening" is only his debut single release since he started RSM, this time featuring an impressive vocalist and lyricist, Kjetil Landsgard. I'd like to share some of his works below in case someone might want to know more about Rafał Szewczyk.
Selected discography: 2005 – G.O.L.E.M. – album CD (A.a. StEreO) 2016 – Rafał Szewczyk – „Soundscapes” album CD (RS-Music) 2018 – Smash the Crash – „Baba Jaga” EP CD (RS-Music) 2019 – Smash the Crash – “PL Lady” album CD (OSKAR CD) 2021 – RSM – “No!” album CD (to be released in November)
First and foremost, I must admit that it's quite impossible not to respect Rafał Szewczyk and his mastermind on both the technical and musical parts of his magnificent work "Awakening". This song is like a lesson that we, young artists who are pursuing a career, should study and learn from his moves. When I listened to Awakening for the first time with full attention, I was impressed by one thing above everything else; the experience. Rafał Szewczyk is not only a talented musician but also intelligent and determined at the same time. There are a few exceptional people out there who are both gifted and constantly very eager to learn out there, but not many. And if you ask me, this is what it takes to be a respected artist.
Awakening is one of the most iconic progressive rock songs I have listened to lately. The song has many things to offer, with the beautiful nostalgia of the 90s. RSM's main influences are in this song starts from rock ballad songs from the 90s, flawlessly blended with old-school progressive rock, mainly from bands, to name a few; Tool, Porcupine Tree (Steven Wilson), Mikael Akerfeldt (Opeth), and Rush. I'm sure so many people are making music with these influences out there, just RSM is one of those special names for me.
On the other hand, the song shows intelligence in everything about it. The composition was perfectly structured, never gets boring or overly repeating. The instrumentation has jaw-dropping standards that we usually hear from established bands such as Dream Theater.
Furthermore, vocalist and the lyricist of Awakening, Kjetil Landsgard deserves credit for this fantastic outcome. This music needed a strong character, and Kjetil was the right man for the job without hesitation. I am a big-time progressive rock fan myself, and must admit that bands such as Porcupine Tree or Dream Theater always sounded weak to me with their vocalists. I'm aware that it's subjective, yet we all know the potential of an important vocalist and frontman when we look at some other established bands' examples. Kjetil, first of all, has the charisma of a real frontman. He looks killer on the music video, yet makes a huge difference with his tender voice. The old-school rock character is there in his vocals adds a new perspective to this track, as it is not only for progressive rock fans anymore but for everybody who has weaknesses for the 90s rock ballads.
The actual reason why I mentioned the production has a few reasons. When you listen to the song carefully, you'll realize how much difference this song makes only because of its well-thought-making. Every part has a different approach, sometimes supporting the atmosphere with organs, using a pad on the background, adding cinematic elements, highlighting the guitar player or the vocalist, raising or dropping the energy, and so on. In this way, I am quite blown away by their innovative work. Rafał Szewczyk strikes me as someone who can really take the flag forward from people like Steven Wilson. He is a complete artist and producer just like him, and RSM is only his personal project among others.
When I take all these into account, I'd like to say that I am well impressed by RSM. Awakening is a timeless song, a serious step forward in Rafał Szewczyk's career which will always make him proud.
STRONGLY RECOMMENDED FOR PROGRESSIVE ROCK FANS
Please go ahead and check out the links below if you'd like to find out more about the artist/band, follow them on social media, subscribe to their channels to show your support, and not miss any upcoming releases.
In conclusion, Metalhead Community Team congratulates RSM for their exceptional single Awakening, and wishes them the very best in their future careers. Thank you for reading.
