Excellent Progmetal from Greece
P. Mendez | Miami, FL | 06/11/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Wastefall are often compared to Pain of Salvation, but with their newest release titled "Self Exile" they seem to be moving into more aggressive territory. This is evident as soon as the intro moves right into the first song "Willow Man" where Kostis, the new drummer for the Greek band, goes into some hard-hitting polyrhythmics. Domenik also shows a new facet of his voice by providing some harsh vocals to compliment perfectly the onslaught of musical bliss from the rest of the band members.
After the second heavy song, however, I started to feel like Wastefall had abandoned their more mellow melodic side. Sure, the second song (The Muzzle Affection) had a brilliant quasi-jazz chorus, and some great use of a female singer (provided by Nina Kadousi) but I was eager to hear some more variety from the band that released the excellent Soulrain 21. I realized the error of doubting Alex and co. as soon as track 4 started with an acoustic melody; this song (titled "Dance of Descent") also was a nice showcase of the other (fairly) new addition to Wastefall, bassist Nick Valentzis, who does a good job with the rhythm section of the song (just some good bass playing, nothing flashy to interrupt the mood of the song).
I stopped trying to guess where the album was going next, and started to thoroughly enjoy and experience it. And what an experience it is... some personal highlights include "Another Empty Haven" (a rollercoaster of a song) and the sad but beautiful "Sleepwalk", and the very catchy "Eternal Yearning Entities", as well as the awesome guitarwork in "Utopia Fragmented". It's hard to pick highlights, since all the songs are excellent; there is something for everybody ranging from heavy, technical, gloomy, melodic, and the list goes on. The fact that all the different styles and emotions expressed are presented as a cohesive list of songs attests to the talent of all the members creating the music.
Special mention has to go out to the lyrics, especially when considering that English is not their native language. There is a prose that just flows through the lyrics and they are written (I think) as to leave open interpretation to the intentions of the story. I don't know if this is a concept album, but there is a definite theme of conscious self-destruction through all the songs.
All in all, this new release by the talented Greeks leaves very little to critique. To nitpick a couple of things, I thought the double bass was a bit monotonous through the heavy parts; I think that it should be left to the points where the drumming needs to be heavily emphasized, or to add another layer of sound, not as gratuitous as it is used in the album. Another nitpick I have is that Christos (keyboards) is not used enough through some of the songs, but when he does show up in the mix it's beautiful.
Hopefully moving into a new more aggressive and varied direction will decrease the comparisons to Pain of Salvation. If you liked Wastefall's last album, "Soulrain 21", then you'll definitely like this album; if you like heavy music, you'll like this album; if you like smart music, you'll like this album; if you like GOOD music, you'll like this album. Just go buy the damn thing already!"
This is NUTS!!!
Jeffrey D. Elsenheimer | Lake Hamilton,FL USA | 06/09/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is a fantastic album. Similar to Pain of Salvation but a bit harder- edged. The production is stellar, really bringing each instrument to the fore. Love the crunchy guitars which are powerful enough to crumble concrete walls! Each musician is on top of his game, including the vocalist. While quite emotional, he's not as theatrical as Daniel Gildenlow (POS.) I listened to this all the way through three times in one evening, something I never do. Fave tracks are "The Willow Man" and "E.Y.E" but all tracks are great, mixing heavy, technical passages with softer, atmospheric stretches. Killer songwrinting make this accessible upon first listen, even though this is no middle- of- the- road pop music. These guys blend their technical prowess with a great melodic sense to produce memorable, enjoyable SONGS. Can't recommend this enough to fans of the heavier side of progressive/ power metal."
Track Listings (11) - Disc #1