snobb Three decades ago one great Russian rock musician sung "It's time for retirement, I'm tired to be an rock'n'roll ambassador in non-rhythmic country...". It was pretty much a pose though - in a country under strict Communists control rock music has been banned,but at the same time it was absolutely dominating religion of younger generation, far ahead of Orthodox Christianity or Communism dogmas.

Things changed a bit during these decades - rock isn't under the ban in today's Russia(at least till it doesn't criticize ruling regime too openly) and it's hardly a new religion anymore.But the country is same "non-rhythmic" - centuries of cultural history with absolute domination of melodic/emotive content against any rhythmic elements in folklore are too influential legacy to accept fast changes even in modern time.Then it's not strange at all that instrumental rock bands aren't national heroes there, even more - it's a small miracle that time to time Russia gives to the world classy instrumental rock music.

Few years ago it was Alko Trio - excellent heavy fusion collective, that silently faded away without any notable recognition. Jam It! are a new generation quartet,based in most European of Russian cities - St.Petersburg.

Guys mention Dream Theater and related projects as their main inspiration,and one can hear it - as well as many other influences in quartet's music. Complex, well played and technically no-nonsense,it contains 80s heavy progressive metal tradition, but (for good) doesn't misuse aggressiveness and heaviness as main components, oppositely - it sounds surprisingly light (but far not lightweight)and bright.

Tunes (probably coming more from classical legacy than from rock) and jazz fusion influences are obvious, and as a result whole album represents perfect balance between complexity and accessibility, rock energy and jazzy improvisational creativity,melodic and rhythmic.

Being a step ahead from classic Dream Theater early works in sense of modernity, quartet is obviously influenced by 80s King Crimson angular rhythmic constructions and their renown "loud/silent" repetitive shifts.

But most of all their music attracts by its immediacy and even freshness - in this field Jam It! are way ahead from many still active "big names" and their influences,who often sound tired to death with playing what they are playing again and again.

And at the end - excellent cover art, distancing musical content from classical progressive metal tradition towards more modern aesthetics, perfectly fits to their music.Bravo!

js No doubt, bandcamp can be a great resource for checking out new bands, but it can be a curse for some bands posted on there because there are critics that assume bandcamp is for bands that are rookies and non-professionals, but such is not always the case. A good example of some of the high quality bands you can find on the site is Jam It!, an instrumental rock band from Russia that features virtuoso instrumentalists playing highly developed compositions with a powerful studio sound. There is nothing amateur about these guys, and if you dig current rock that draws on classic 70s progressive rock, as well as modern prog-metal, then you have come to the right place. This is rock with just enough fusion mixed in to appeal to fans of the rockier side of the jazz to rock equation.

Jam It! lists Dream Theatre, and their fusion offshoots such as Liquid Tension Experiment and Planet X, as influences, but to be fair to Jam It!, their music is a lot more lively and imaginative than those aforementioned technocrats. Some other influences you might hear include the various incarnations of King Crimson, early Yes, mid-70s Genesis and modern metal fusion in general. Although keyboardist Roman Savelyev takes a few solos, and provide massive orchestrations throughout, the star of the show is guitarist Konstatin Llin, who displays the required speed metal riffs, but also plays some nice soulful licks more in line with the classic guitaristics of Jeff Beck or Oz Noy.

Musically, Jam It! often features the sort of rapid harmonic and rhythmic changes that we normally associate with prog rock, but these guys don’t give into meaningless flash, and often show a much more soulful blues/RnB side that gives the music more depth and room to breathe. You can bet that there are other bands out there trying to mine similar material, but the big plus here is that the guys in Jam It! know how to play, how to arrange, and how to use the studio to get a fat sound. “Following the Unknown” is a great album for fans of modern instrumental prog rock, prog metal, and the heavier side of modern fusion.