Band:	The Wake
Album:	Ode To My Misery
Style:	Melodic death metal
Release date:	November 2003

01. Murder One
02. Darkness Of Mine
03. Souls Encounter
04. Deep Silent Dead
05. Forever Nothing
06. Befouled Galaxy
07. Failed Generation
08. The Neverending
09. Like A Fallen Angel
10. Whenever I Suffer
11. Here in Eternity [Japanese bonus]
12. Deja-Vu [Japanese bonus]

With a name like "The Wake", an album entitled "Ode To My Misery" and a somber (and great) cover art, I was expecting slow Doom Metal here, so I prepared to enjoy a sad and lonely time with this one, I sat down, I remember it was a sunny day, so I closed the curtains and shut down all doors and windows. The mood was set. Had everything, mind full of troubles, headphones and some cigarettes.

Damn! Boy I was surprised that I wasn't dealing with Doom metal here, at the first second of the first track "Murder One" you know that is Melodeath what are you hearing here? Swedish Melodic Death Metal? from Finland.

So, the first track didn't impress me much? The band caught my attention on track 2 "Darkness Of Mind", the melodies, and the paced parts combined with the more aggressive are awesome! The chorus is also great, very catchy! Next "Souls Encounter" is also a excellent track, full of rich melodies and tempo changes, truly a killer song!

But sadly, after those two.. the album becomes a little repetitive and boring. The initial comparison with Dark Tranquillity and In Flames is initially taken away by those 2 songs, but the rest of the album draws too much of these bands, so the comparison must be drawn again?

But worry not, because this not a bad album at all, as a matter of fact for being a debut album is rather good, and it has some great moments, songs like "Failed Generation" and "Like A Fallen Angel" are living proof of that. I wasn't sure about the score in this one, I was going to put a 7, but in the last weeks this album has grown on me, and let's hope it will grow more, and also let's hope that in their next album The Wake can offer us a more unique and personal sound. I'll be waiting.