{"id":37532,"date":"2014-02-15T17:09:37","date_gmt":"2014-02-15T22:09:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=37532"},"modified":"2014-02-15T17:09:37","modified_gmt":"2014-02-15T22:09:37","slug":"hetman-you-cd-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2014\/hetman-you-cd-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Hetman | You<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Alexandra Mrozowska<\/span>
\n– Columnist —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"HetmanA legend of the Polish heavy metal underground and one of the most underrated bands in the scene \u2013 Hetman \u2013 returns with a new album You<\/em>. Despite the line-up changes throughout the recent decade, the group around mastermind of the lead guitarist Jaroslaw \u2018Hetman\u2019 Hertmanowski remains somewhat faithful in their following the musical recipe they perfected on their last album D\u00e9j\u00e0 vu<\/em> (2009). In the past the band flirted with melodic hard rock\/AOR (Zle Sny, 1992) and for many they\u2019re associated with biker anthem songs (\u201cEasy Rider\u201d, \u201cHarley\u201d) \u2013 what they deliver on their more recent records, You<\/em> included, is heavy metal deeply rooted in classic sounds of the genre, with some softening touches of their musical past as well. Songs on You, similar to its predecessors, are almost entirely in English \u2013 and the icing on the cake for the band\u2019s avid followers is that several tracks on You feature Robert Tyc (known from Hetman\u2019s previous incarnations) on vocals. Plus \u2013 the intentionally cheesy, cartoonish artwork, an ultimate reminder of the metal\u2019s glory days.<\/p>\n

The album starts off with an acoustic opening to the first track \u2013 the eponymous \u201cYou\u201d which evolves into a bitter tale about the downsides of love led by a lumbering guitar riff. \u201cBe An Eagle\u201d explodes with a Maiden-esque riff \u2013 it\u2019s classic power metal sound at its best with fast, furious guitar shredding; surprisingly, there is a slow-down in the middle of the song with an interesting dialogue between the bass and the lead guitar (which subsequently leads to again fast-paced ending). Certainly that\u2019s one of the record\u2019s highlights (an impression slightly weakened by the moderate vocal performance by Pawel Bielecki). Speaking of vocals \u2013 \u201cDivine\u201d is the one which follows, and in this song, the microphone is shared between Bielecki and the aforementioned Robert Tyc. It\u2019s the latter\u2019s performance that truly shines throughout the song \u2013 very expressive and full of emotion. <\/p>\n

Another interesting song \u2013 certainly softer than the two previous ones, led by a dialogue between guitar and keyboards. \u201cNa krawedzi\u201d (\u201cOn The Edge\u201d) is, for a change, sung in Polish (there is an English translation of its lyrics in the booklet). This epic song, enriched with the refined, wailing guitar sounds and classically sounding piano parts, ended with an acoustic coda, features Tyc on vocals again and again, it\u2019s his blues-driven manner of singing and his expressiveness that make this intense, atmospheric ballad a real masterpiece. There is Jaroslaw Hertmanowski and the guest guitarists contributing some sublime guitar parts and soloing too \u2013 in this track as well as the next one, \u201cMy Home.\u201d The fifth track is co-written by the band\u2019s keyboardist Maciej Baran; little wonder the song\u2019s based on the interplay between guitar and keyboards. Speaking of the sound of which \u2013 its follower \u201cFight For It\u201d comes off sounding almost AOR-ish (and at times a bit reminiscent of the early Hetman as well) and more radio-friendly than the rest of the album. As for the next track \u2013 \u201cWe mgle\u201d (\u201cIn the Fog\u201d) is a two-minute acoustic interlude with a male\/female duet (Bielecki and the leader\u2019s talented daughter Julia Hertmanowska) repeatedly singing the song\u2019s title. <\/p>\n

\u201cI Can\u2019t Take It\u201d and \u201cMidnight\u201d are other dynamic guitar-driven songs softened by the powerful keyboard sound, with the latter being another highlight of the entire album (and a future concert favorite among the audience). They\u2019re followed by the gloomy ballad \u201cDziewczynka z zapalkami\u201d (\u201cThe Little Match Girl\u201d), a dark and dramatic \u2018adult\u2019 reinvention of the classic children\u2019s short story of Hans Christian Andersen; the story\u2019s well-known tragic ending is also quoted by Julia Hertmanowska towards the end of the song. This piece of spine-tingling music is complemented by the amazing vocal performance of Robert Tyc, who takes the microphone over again. The eleventh track \u201cEasy\u201d \u2013 with Bielecki on vocals and the band turning towards radio-friendly melodic rock again \u2013 finishes the album on a high note.<\/p>\n

Dedicated \u201cto women\u201d You<\/em> is a record able to win the hearts of all existing groups of rock\/metal listeners \u2013 not only the above female part of the audience, but everyone who\u2019s into classic guitar-oriented rock and metal. Diverse linguistically and musically, varying from power metal aesthetics to keyboard-driven melodic rock, You portrays the Polish legendary band not bothered with contemporary trends but rather sustaining their overall standard of music performance. For these who have never heard of Hetman before, here is a chance to discover an experienced, passionate guitarist and composer Jaroslaw Hertmanowski undoubtedly is, and Hetman\u2019s solid and impressive musicianship. Robert Tyc\u2019s amazing vocal performance on the record might also serve for some as a teaser to find out more about Hetman\u2019s musical past \u2026 highly recommended for all heavy metal-hard-rock-melodic fans.<\/p>\n

Genre: Hard Rock, Heavy Metal<\/p>\n

Line-up:
\nJaroslaw Hertmanowski: rhythm guitar, acoustic guitar, lead guitar, bass guitar
\nPawel Bielecki: lead and background vocals
\nMaciej Baran: keyboard instruments
\nPawe\u0142 Stuczy\u0144ski: drums
\nRobert Tyc: lead vocals (tracks 3, 4, 10)
\nJulia Hertmanowska: lead vocals (track 7, 10)
\nBoguslaw Balcerak: lead guitar (track 2, 3)
\nMarcin Ga\u0142kowski: lead guitar (tracks 1, 4)
\nPiotr Szwed: lead guitar (track 5)
\nPiotr Bajus (track 11)
\nRafa\u0142 Konieczny: piano (track 4)<\/p>\n

Track-listing:
\n7.\tYou
\n8.\tBe An Eagle
\n9.\tDivine
\n10.\tNa Krawedzi
\n11.\tMy Home
\n12.\tFight For It
\n13.\tWe Mgle
\n14.\tCan\u2019t Take It
\n15.\tMidnight
\n16.\tDziewczynka z zapalkami
\n17. \tEasy<\/p>\n

Label: Independent<\/p>\n

Web: http:\/\/www.hetmanband.pl\/index1.html<\/a><\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven rating: 9.5\/10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Alexandra Mrozowska – Columnist — A legend of the Polish heavy metal underground and one of the most underrated bands in the scene \u2013 Hetman \u2013 returns with a new album You. Despite the […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":37533,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10848],"tags":[2317,1103,2491,8834,8835],"class_list":{"0":"post-37532","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arcrvws2014","8":"tag-cd-review","9":"tag-hard-rock","10":"tag-heavy-metal","11":"tag-hetman","12":"tag-you"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37532","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37532"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37532\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37533"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37532"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37532"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37532"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}