Votum is a progressive metal band from Warsaw/Warszawa Poland, their  name defined as a form of prayer. The cover of their CD, Time Must Have A Stop features a ghostly pale woman that can really use some time in the tanning booth. The CD's booklet seems to obsess about this woman, showing pictures and drawings of her posted on a wall as if the band is telling a story with the lyrics, albeit a creepy one.  Everything about this release is dark and eerie with the exception of  the production which is very polished; the vocals intelligible and clean. Hell, even the distorted guitars are clean. Although there are  progressive metal fans out there who have a greater frame of reference, I was immediately reminded of Queensryche, with a little Disturbed and Stain'd thrown into the mix. 

The disc kicks off with "Me In The Dark," a pleasant gentle  ballad...for exactly one minute, when the aural assault begins. 
Powerchords and pulsating drums become the star of the show. It is Progressive Metal, right? The  next song, "The Pun" starts off with a keyboard intro sounding like the band, Triumph, before the heavy guitar takes center stage. "Passing Song" has nice keyboards to compliment this darker song, making it  seem all the more ominous. The fourth song, "Train Back Home" is a  standout, a power-ballad with great acoustic guitar throughout and nicely layered vocals. This is about as close to a radio-friendly song  as it gets for this group. "The Hunt Is On" features acoustic guitar and inventive drumming. "Away" is a nice ballad to relax you before the next song, "Look At Me Now" sucker punches your tympanic membrane.  The disc's closer track, "Time Must Have a Stop" is the longest song clocking in at 10:49. It begins softly with foreboding piano, building up dramatic momentum with some melodic guitar playing and vocal gymnastics. 

There is much to like about this release from  Votum; tight musicianship, meaty guitar riffs, virtuoso keyboard playing, creative 
drumming, and strong vocals. Yet I still felt as if I was listening to something that has been done before. The group has their own house sound, yet each song too closely resembles the previous. Fans of Prog-Metal should listen to a few samples on  Votum's Myspace page to decide if this is to your liking.