Milan Polak Murphy’s Law
by Joe Mis
Staff Writer
Murphy’s Law is the latest release from well-respected guitarist Milan Polak. Polak has received high praise for his skills from a number of sources, including Guitar for the Practicing Musician and Guitar World magazines, and good ol’ Mike Varney.
While no stranger to instrumental albums (having released two rock and one jazz/fusion albums – Dreamscapes, Guitar Odyssey and J.A.M. respectively), Murphy’s Law is only Polak’s second vocal recording. The depth and warmth of the recording is surprisingly good for a trio. Polak performs all guitars and lead vocals, while Fabio Trentini plays bass and keyboards, and Simon Michael handles the drums.
The CD opens with the title track, “Murphy’s Law,” and this one sets the tone for the entire album. Hooky riffs, great guitar solos, solid vocals and really great rhythm lines characterize every track on the CD. Polak’s guitars drive every track on this album, and most are straight-up guitar rock tunes. There are a few progressive metal tempo changes (particularly noticeable in “No God”), acoustic passages (“Losing Me”), and some slower tracks (“The Opposite of Love”). “Sheeple,” with really great and timely lyrics, has a decidedly funky backbeat. “Torn” is an amazing ballad with some superb acoustic guitar work and excellent harmonies. The lyrics throughout the album are all timely and very relevant to today’s world, and the songs are well crafted musically.
The production and engineering are excellent. The vocals are crisp and clear; the guitars are nicely balanced against the bass and drums – an easy album on the ears. Each musician is given his chance to shine, and no one dominates.
Polak is an excellent guitarist and very good songwriter, and he’s not a bad singer, despite a somewhat limited vocal range. Fabio Trentini is a very accomplished bass player and also co-produced the album. His bass lines are solid, and his keyboards are appropriate to the song. Simon Michael is a talented drummer who knows just how much energy to inject into the music without overwhelming everyone else.
Fans of melodic hard rock or those in search of the next guitar hero will be pleased with Murphy’s Law. Milan Polak and his crew have done an excellent job with this one and have made a solid guitar-driven album that doesn’t come across as a guitar exposition. Polak allows himself to show off a little, but this is really a “whole-band” effort. Polak focused on making music and writing solid songs rather than stringing a bunch of high-speed notes and chord progressions as many other “guitar gods” have done. This is a great CD with a lot of attitude and shows Milan Polak to be a complete musician – much more than just another six-string phenom.
Label: Lion Music
Track Listing:
01. Murphy’s Law
02. No God
03. Inner Truth
04. Losing Me
05. Wannabes
06. The Opposite Of Love
07. Sheeple
08. Torn
09. Alien Nation
10. Fake
11. The Mystery Of Life
HRH Rating: 9/10