Line-up: Dona Michelle - guitar, violin, vocals, Marqui - vocals, Jane - guitar, Bassbarelle - bass, Mercy - drums

The all-girl band Kapriola from Ostrava has recently come out with a brand new record „Evoluce” and apart from line-up changes, the band´s fans could have been looking forward to the announced swing from hard rock to a more metallic genre. The introductory violin track, which is not the only one where you will hear this string instrument, is followed by a swift butt kicking track „Poslední nepřítel”. The perfect sound engineering, administered by Mroš, the master of sound from Ostrava, results in seldom sliding into groove metal. But the overall melodic approach balances more on the heavy metal side of the edge and the hit potential is delivered by a very catchy chorus.

As it could be heard from the very beginning, with the arrival of new members, the band has reached a higher level as far as quality is concerned. Some might already know the drummer Mercy from her previous engagement in Greedy Invalid. She‘s obviously taking advantage of this experience and in my opinion is pushing her creativity even further. The other newcomer is the vocalist Marqui who, despite being quite young, manages to give a decent performance and the fact that it sometimes bears a reflection of the deceased Pavla Kapitánová is only for good. So we have the foundations for the individual songs laid down and it’s time to move on. Very important, or even essential, is the contribution of the guitarist Dona Michelle who now and then also plays the violin and is the head composer and lyricist of the band. Her virtuosity is presented in the already mentioned intro, but even more brilliant part comes in the song „Sfaramehore”. Lucifer himself must have been leading her bow across the strings because the trills here are devilish as hell. I personally perceive this piece as the most artistic part of the whole album. Dona is dominating on this track, but Mercy is not staying behind, instead she is uncompromisingly keeping the tempo rolling fast. In the sort of ska-punk intermezzos I have noted also the skilful play of the bassist Bassbarelle.

The band is successfully breaking the barriers between various genres and so it might not come as a surprise that the song „Sedm” is way too alternative. The combination of metal, rock, a bit of psychedelic and maybe even funky rhythms, deserves a lot of patience before you get into a proper mood to enjoy this. But I must say that getting into this track is definitely worth the effort. Someone simply does possess the composition skills to arrange such a varied mixture into a proper masterpiece. Those who prefer more straightforward approach won’t come short as well. For example, the hard rock song „Tisíc prstů“, and some more, offer little ‘simpler‘ motives that will definitely make it into the band’s live setlist. All in all it is clear that there’s always something to spark up your attention for the whole duration of the listening. If you fancy bands that cover a wider range of genres and you don’t mind incorporation of non-metal instruments, you definitely should give a try to this new record by Kapriola.