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Sandstone > Looking for Myself > Reviews

Sandstone - Looking for Myself

The album entitled Looking for Myself only contains six songs, but those are long and very strong songs that will mark you for a long time after just a couple of listenings. It is a story of a man struggling for love. Best song in my opinion, which also manages to show the whole essence of Sandstone, is Birth of my Soul” with great guitar solo of Mr. Niecikowski. The vocals of Martin Zmorzynski are also strong with very few and minor fall-outs. In general their music reminds me a bit of Dream Theater, but only to a certain degree, as Sandstone do manage to create something unique and different.
www.metal-revolution.com/plugins/content/content.php?content.1669

Italian review
www.extramusic.it/disco/novitadiscografiche313.htm

...Every time that I receive a release from Progrock records, I'm never disappointed because this label simply collect very carefully the bands that they feel really deserve to have a deal. So it is the time to hear the stuff from Sandstone. The title of this, debut album, is "Looking for Myself", a very powerful title but I think it fits perfectly with the music from Sandstone. Even if this album has six tracks it reaches almost an hour of the progressive heaven of Sandstone. Also we can say that this is a concept album and the band says to us the story of a young man that searches for love...
www.powerplayrecords.net/reviews/sandstonerev.htm

...When listening to the album, it soon becomes clear that these guys, as so many others, are familiar with Dream Theaters earlier releases. But unlike many other bands, Sandstone manage to a greater extent to establish the foundations for a sound of their own. Although the song structures, guitar riffs etcetera are familiar, Sandstone has chosen a much more polished sound for their album. The guitars are slick and doesn't dominate the soundcape, and the keyboards are given more room instead. The vocalist utilizes his somewhat limited range to convey emotions, and does a good job doing so. No big vocal dramatics on this record (and a big thank you and amen to that). Some listeners may have a problem with his accent; but for me at least that wasn't an issue. Rhythm section works okay, good drummer and competent bass player...
www.prog4you.com/cd-reviews-10-06/Sandstone.htm

...Instead of spaceships and some outer mystical concept, Looking for Myself’s theme revolves about finding love; hence the album’s title (and storyline) is something we all can relate to. Musically, the record reins on the musician’s side of things, with very tight improvisations spread out like shrapnel among the more basic melodies involved; but yet there are no jittery avant-garde approaches present, so, go figure. Nevertheless strong points include “Like a Thought” which sounds a lot like early Jadis, the darkish, hard driving title track, and “Birth of My Soul” which conveys emotion like some of Neal Morse’s recent and heavier material; with the whole record being energetic throughout without going on a tangent (or sounding like Tangent) with the often low key atmospheric soundscapes that often get too ‘winding;’ whereas Looking for Myself is a neo-prog fans wild dream, and maybe another type of dream as well.
www.ytsejam.com/modules.php?name=Reviews&rop=showcontent&id=950

Portuguese review
www.rockprogressivo.com.br/canais/rev/sandstone_looking.htm

Spanish review
manticornio.com/rock-progresivo/S/SANDSTONE/looking-for-myself.html

German review
www.metal-inside.de/frame.php?url=www.metal-inside.de/dyn/review.jsp?id=6868

Polish review
www.gondolin.aplus.pl/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=749&Itemid=28

French review in Belgium
www.musicinbelgium.net/pl/modules.php?name=Reviews&rop=showcontent&id=1344

...Sandstone’s debut, Looking For Myself, is an expansive, six-song journey chronicling one man’s struggle for nothing more than to love and to be loved. It sounds more upbeat than Riverside (arguably one of the biggest acts to come out of Poland in recent years) and less technical than Dream Theater. But the sheer ambition of these songs – only one of which clocks in at shorter than seven and a half minutes – propels Looking For Myself into the ranks of those debut discs that leave listeners not only wanting more but also wondering where else the band could take the music. The best indication of Sandstone's capabilities can be heard on “Birth of My Soul,” which opens with clear and concise soloing from guitarist Jarek Niecikowski and eventually reaches David Gilmour aspirations near the song's conclusion. Vocalist Marcin Zmorzynski’s thick accent is a minor distraction early on, but getting used to it is easy.
seaoftranquility.org/reviews.php?op=showcontent&id=3685

Italian review
www.unprogged.com/showthread.php?t=2782

Italian review
www.hardsounds.it/PUBLIC/recensione.php?id=2352

...Consider me a fan of this band, seeing that they are serious about keeping the progressive factor in their music at the forefront of their sound, when they are not backing the vocalist, they are captivating you with mesmerizing whirlwinds of instrumental bliss, much in the way LTE does. Credit to ProgRock Records for giving this band a chance at getting their music heard, it's always a pleasure to hear new bands that are not making the reviewers guess if in fact they are progressive or not, this has been a problem especially so in the progressive metal market, as if having keys in a metal setting somehow qualifies that as progmetal, bands like Sandstone remove all reasonble doubt that they are squarely and precisely a progressive band, which to the fans of that genre is a treat to the senses, the very senses that are triggered by such musical nuances as complexity, solid musicianship, epic songs, and flashy instrumental showmanship.
www.proggnosis.com/MUSIC_DBCDInfo.asp?txtCDID=18896

...Though it is a bit vulgar at times, the drumming make for the compositions’ dynamics, and lives by their harmonies. There are some highly engaging unison movements, as well as creative, unpretentious guitar and keyboard solos. These can be fully appreciated through the album’s highlight, "Birth of My Soul" (I especially like the way they incorporate vibraphone-like sounds into this track)...
maelstrom.nu/ezine/review_iss46_3318.php

Polish review
www.mlwz.ceti.pl/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=486&Itemid=26

German review
www.rocktimes.de/gesamt/s/sandstone/looking_for_myself.html

German review
www.musikansich.de/ausgaben/0407/reviews/j_sandstone.html

Hebrew review
www.metalist.co.il/AlbumReviewPrivate.asp?id=428