Wisdom Trip - 2026 - Nakrecany Czlowiek

(29:44; Lynx Music)

Formed in Poland in 2014 and releasing their debut, ‘Era of Stone’ in 2016, here we have the latest release from Wisdom Trip who are one of those rare things in progressive rock, a trio who rarely use keyboards. The line-up is Jakub Zuber (guitars, vocals), Milan Rabij (drums, percussion) and Grzegorz Grychtoł (bass), while ex-Dream Theater keyboard player Derek Sherinian guests on one track. This is yet another concept album with lyrics in Polish, here telling the story of the main character being permanently trapped in a repeated Monday, referring to the helplessness, monotony, frustration, and feelings of loss and confusion that people suffer. Much of this was completed during the pandemic, so perhaps these feelings are not much of a surprise.

I have no idea what Jakub is singing, but apparently the English title for this album is ‘The Wind-Up Man’, and the artwork definitely shows that, and it would certainly be interesting to understand what is being said as there is plenty of passion and angst at play. I have often said that a trio is the ultimate band setup as there is no room whatsoever to hide, and that is certainly the case here as while these are real songs with plenty of vocals, there are also long instrumental passages where these guys really come to life. Milan refuses to sit in one style for too long, providing plenty of dynamics, while Grzegorz can often be found holding together complex melody while Jakub goes off and does his thing. There is quite a live feeling to much of this, and one can imagine them thumping this out in the studio as a set with a few overdubs being added later.

Very much technical hard rock based, this prog sounds as if it is coming at us from the early Seventies as opposed to the current day, as there is little in the way of trickery and over the top layering and instead has musicians demonstrating their skills in a way which is totally engaging and interesting. I have always enjoyed Sherinian’s playing, as he always seems to me to be someone who wishes they played guitar as opposed to keyboards, but while I enjoyed his additions on “Decyzje Frustrata” I did feel it took them too far into prog metal and away from their core sound. However, this is yet another really enjoyable Polish act signed to Lynx Music, and I look forward to hearing more from them. 

Kev Rowland, March 2026

Links:
https://www.facebook.com/wisdomtripmusic/
https://lynxmusic.pl/