Open Access describe themselves as a Polish folk/power metal band with symphonic and thrash influences. This is a fairly accurate summation given the interesting union of sounds here. I was expecting something more akin to the hundreds of female-fronted folk acts out there, but this is a little different.
The vocal approach and implementation of folk instruments is still very much the same. Marta Muszynka has a lovely voice that with time could be right up there with the big names. She has operatic qualities to her tone, but thankfully never really goes over the top. Where we break from the typical aesthetic is primarily in the riffs. That “thrash influence” is pretty clear in the guitar work and drumming. Aside from the more familiar, Windir-ish hook on “Kozak,” chord structures and speed favor Metallica and Megadeath over Moonsorrow.
Now being perfectly honest, this fusion is not always perfect. Sounds can clash rather than flowing into one another. However, I really think that Open Access are onto something here. There are like a bajillion folk metal bands out there that have begun to sound exactly the same. Even the big names are starting to run together. Like my praise of Ensiferum taking a chance on something completely different with “2 of Spades” this year, Over a Mountain Peak plays with some ideas that with expansion and better orchestration could lead to something quite fresh.
Final point being, this is worth your time, and more importantly, a band worth following as they grow and develop. I greatly encourage them to continue playing with the thrash side of their sound and work on how to most effectively combine it with the symphonic and folk elements. Don't be content sounding like everyone else. I raise my tankard to what I hope will be a promising career in the future.