Millenium - 2025 - The Lost Melodies

(59:16; Lynx Music)






















Out of the 19 studio albums released by this wonderful Polish neo progressive band I think I have reviewed 16, including this one, and each and every one has a very special place. Band leader, composer and keyboard player Ryszard Kramarski is always full of ideas, so much so that he has created other bands as well, while of course running Lynx Music which is so very important to the Polish scene. Millenium celebrated their 25th anniversary in 2024, and in 2025 they played a very special show (to which I was invited but could not attend) at the Nowa Huta Cultural Centre in Krakow, which led Ryszard to bring together new versions of well-known material plus some brand-new recordings. 

We get a few rarities which feature previous lead singers Marek Smelkowski and Łukasz Gałęziowski, but for the most part we are treated to newly recorded songs featuring current vocalist Dawid Lewandowski. He has totally settled into the role now, having already completed two albums prior to this one, and is comfortable not only singing on shortened versions of “Hope Dies Last” and “To Err Is Human”, but also visiting one of Millenium’s best-known songs, “Light Your Cigar” which originally appeared on their third album, 2002’s ‘Reincarnations’. One of the totally new songs is the opening title cut which is the only epic, at more than fifteen minutes in length, and involves all three lead vocalists, past and present, while Ryszard also appears through vocoder, one of his trademarks which often appears throughout the album. 

Overall this is yet again a very enjoyable release from the Polish masters, although I must confess I would have liked to have heard more drama from guitarist Piotr Płonka, as while it is packed with melody there are also times when I think they have moved a little too far on the reliance of the vocals for the passion, and it all feels a little too polished. Mind you, it is the same line-up as last time (apart from the additional “old” singers) which bodes well for the future and while I hesitate in promoting this as a starting point for anyone investigating the band for the first time there is no doubt that the guys have yet again produced an album which their fans will relish. Neo Prog is alive and well in Poland. 

Kev Rowland, March 2026

Links:
https://www.facebook.com/millenium.progrock
https://www.lynxmusic.pl/

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