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Wilderun - Epigone



7.9 | 312 votes |
Release date: 7 January 2022
Style: Progressive metal, Symphonic metal

Owners:

104 have it
26 want it


01. Exhaler
02. Woolgatherer
03. Passenger
04. Identifier
05. Ambition
06. Distraction I
07. Distraction II
08. Distraction III
09. Distraction Nulla
10. Everything In Its Right Place [Radiohead cover] [digipak bonus]

Additional info
Produced by Wilderun. Mixed by Jens Bogren. Mastered by Tom Couture.
Recorded at More Sound Studios in Syracuse, NY, Jan-Feb 2021.
Electric Lap Steel, Resonator Guitar, Baritone Guitar and Mandolin recorded and engineered in Norwalk, CA.

Staff review by
Netzach
Rating:
9.5
2022, go home, you're already on fire.

Read more ››
published 31.12.2021 | Comments (41)

09.01.2022
A lot of bands fancy themselves as cinematic or epic, but very few bands manage to mirror the actual experience of a story. Wilderun so effortlessly drag you along for the ride, and Epigone rewards every bit of patience you give it.

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Comments

Comments: 51   Visited by: 865 users
16.10.2021 - 14:55
Nifheim
Nifheim
The length of the tracks (Distraction with the four parts almost 20 minutes!):

1. Exhaler 04:44
2. Woolgatherer 14:11
3. Passenger 09:58
4. Identifier 11:32
5. Ambition 02:40
6. Distraction I 04:56
7. Distraction II 05:39
8. Distraction III 05:45
9. Distraction Nulla 03:14
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18.10.2021 - 12:34
Rating: 8
nonZero

Written by Nifheim on 16.10.2021 at 14:55

The length of the tracks (Distraction with the four parts almost 20 minutes!):

1. Exhaler 04:44
2. Woolgatherer 14:11
3. Passenger 09:58
4. Identifier 11:32
5. Ambition 02:40
6. Distraction I 04:56
7. Distraction II 05:39
8. Distraction III 05:45
9. Distraction Nulla 03:14

Good to see they are ambitious as always. Hoping this one will be at least as good as the last 2! The first single is promising:

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21.12.2021 - 22:58
Rating: 9
RaduP
CertifiedHipster
2022 can just resign. This is already AOTY.
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Do you think if the heart keeps on shrinking
One day there will be no heart at all?
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07.01.2022 - 11:01
Rating: 10
TheBigRossowski

Written by RaduP on 21.12.2021 at 22:58

2022 can just resign. This is already AOTY.


I gave it a 10. In my mind, there is nothing that would have made this album better. It's phenomenal.
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That rug really tied the room together, did it not?
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07.01.2022 - 15:03
Rating: 8
Caio

I think my expectations were too high for this album. Don't get me wrong, is not bad at all but also not as good as Veil Of Imagination.
It also didn't help that Passenger (the best song of the album in my opinion) was released before as a single.
Maybe it will grown more on me with time
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07.01.2022 - 15:09
Rating: 9
skeksis25

Written by Caio on 07.01.2022 at 15:03

I think my expectations were too high for this album. Don't get me wrong, is not bad at all but also not as good as Veil Of Imagination.
It also didn't help that Passenger (the best song of the album in my opinion) was released before as a single.
Maybe it will grown more on me with time

Have the same feeling with the 14 minutes song, which sounds softer than the previous stuff, but the rest of the album was very solid, specially the 20 minutes opus song.
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07.01.2022 - 15:42
Gungniru

Written by skeksis25 on 07.01.2022 at 15:09

Written by Caio on 07.01.2022 at 15:03

I think my expectations were too high for this album. Don't get me wrong, is not bad at all but also not as good as Veil Of Imagination.
It also didn't help that Passenger (the best song of the album in my opinion) was released before as a single.
Maybe it will grown more on me with time

Have the same feeling with the 14 minutes song, which sounds softer than the previous stuff, but the rest of the album was very solid, specially the 20 minutes opus song.


I was like "What the hell is this slog??" when listening to track 2.
Fortunately the rest is better but I wouldn't call it great either. Here's hoping it's a grower like Veil was. Although that one grew on pretty quickly.
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07.01.2022 - 16:38
Rating: 8
nonZero

Written by Caio on 07.01.2022 at 15:03

I think my expectations were too high for this album. Don't get me wrong, is not bad at all but also not as good as Veil Of Imagination.
It also didn't help that Passenger (the best song of the album in my opinion) was released before as a single.
Maybe it will grown more on me with time

100% agree.

I think a lot of the album sounds a bit directionless. Still a great listen, but not the release I was hoping for.
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07.01.2022 - 17:09
Rating: 7
AndyMetalFreak
A Nice Guy
Already sounds better than almost anything I heard from last year (not that I listened to a great deal of prog last year). Well it's a good start if this is a sign of what we have in store for this year.
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07.01.2022 - 17:36
Rating: 9
JayMo4

Wow... I'd say I'm speechless, but I probably won't be able to shut the fuck up about this album to any of my prog friends for a while. Full disclaimer, I only just got it and I've only listened beginning to end once. But this feels like the best prog metal record in at least a couple years. I can't think of anything last year this good, and only a couple things in 2020 that come close. It's all subjective, of course. I get where the "directionless" critique comes from; it just feels like a journey to me. I get that there's not enough of the heavier elements for some people, but I listen to everything from metal to jazz to classical to folk and so on. So that doesn't bother me. This is an album that celebrates the mystery behind consciousness and life. I really dig it. I'm half tempted to hand out my first 10 score in a few years. Maybe after a couple more listens to let it digest.

This is their best record IMO. I enjoyed the previous couple quite a bit, but this one was even more ambitious and somehow still managed to nail the target.

PS - If you enjoyed this as much as I did and haven't ever listened to Xanthachroid, DO IT. There are a lot of parallels in approach here without either band being a mimic to the other.
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07.01.2022 - 22:37
Rating: 8
Jared Archon

I love Sleep at the Edge of the Earth and Veil of Imagination, I think both those records are masterpieces. I'll have to listen to this one more, but it's not clicking with me as much. Still good, just feels meandering and has too many tracks that don't do much. The second half of the record is notably better than the start. I wish they cut Woolgatherer altogether
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08.01.2022 - 06:44
Nifheim
Nifheim
It's been three listens now and I'm in love with the album: the solos, Evan's voice, the instrumentation, everything is brilliant.
If I had to choose the highlight of the album for me, and there are many, I would say that it is the last 2-3 minutes of Identifier: wow is amazing.
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08.01.2022 - 09:43
Rating: 8
Umideath

Distraction Nulla's track >> Biggest mindfuck
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My Top 90 Metal Albums Of 2023 - Part 2 >> https://youtu.be/6Yi7zV9Xo58 - Part 1
https://youtu.be/8F0E_CAfmMM
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08.01.2022 - 11:11
Rating: 9
Risto
Wandering Midget
Written by Jared Archon on 07.01.2022 at 22:37

I wish they cut Woolgatherer altogether

Why would they leave out some of the best melodic ideas of the entire album? Sure, you could argue it should be trimmed down, but as a whole it's too good to be cut off entirely. I think I'm at my fourth listen of that track now and it's gotten better every time. It feels like a crooked cousin of The Means to Preserve at this point.
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09.01.2022 - 03:13
Rating: 9
Uxküll

Such an incredible album, may be a 10 but I need a few more spins for a more accurate verdict.
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"Nullum unquam exstitit magnum igenium sine aliqua dementia [there was never great genius without some madness]."

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09.01.2022 - 11:09
Rating: 6
BCI

Sorry but I don't see the appeal in this one. It takes a while to get going but it doesn't seem to know where it's headed.
Tracks 1 and 2 are a chore to get through.
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Black Crown Initiate have ruined a lot of bands for me...
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09.01.2022 - 11:37
Rating: 7
LordFezzington
Lost To Apathy
Written by BCI on 09.01.2022 at 11:09

Sorry but I don't see the appeal in this one. It takes a while to get going but it doesn't seem to know where it's headed.
Tracks 1 and 2 are a chore to get through.

So far I'm inclined to agree. Plenty of good ideas scattered throughout, but overall a bit aimless, songwriting wise.
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09.01.2022 - 14:45
Rating: 7
musclassia

Sadly I have to join the 'not entirely convinced' train - there's a lot of scattered moments that sound nice, but apart from Identifier, nothing that brought me really in on first listen, and the Opeth bits sound a bit too derivative of Opeth. Impressive work, but like the last record, not one that drags me back. Plus, the clean sung parts remind me a bit too much of the clean moments on Autotheism throughout
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09.01.2022 - 15:20
Rating: 10
TizMH00

I seem to read some pretty negative opinions and I don't understand why.
I met them thanks to Veil of Imagination 2 years ago and they impressed me a lot, especially their Opeth's influence (which I like a lot) but this album, guys, is perfect in everything, songwriting, sound and composition, I have not found any flaw to be honest.
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09.01.2022 - 15:37
Rating: 9
RaduP
CertifiedHipster
Written by TizMH00 on 09.01.2022 at 15:20

I seem to read some pretty negative opinions and I don't understand why.

This is a really "you feel it or you don't" kind of thing. Happens a lot with a bunch of stuff that I like that if you don't feel it, it feels directionless and boring. Plus the Opeth influence would feel even more derivative if Opeth were still doing stuff like that.

But then again, Wilderun just hit it for me. I liked Veil a bit more, and that one was a 10 for me.
----
Do you think if the heart keeps on shrinking
One day there will be no heart at all?
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09.01.2022 - 17:35
Rating: 8
LeKiwi
High Fist Prog
Written by nonZero on 07.01.2022 at 16:38

I think a lot of the album sounds a bit directionless. Still a great listen, but not the release I was hoping for.

Pretty much just what I was thinking. I love the sound so much that I'm almost drawn to rate it a 9, but I know I'm being tricked as I'm just a sucker for that kind of epic sound.
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09.01.2022 - 22:32
Rating: 6
Roman Doez
Hallucigenia
Came in with 0 expectations as I didn't like veil all that much, and goddamn I am blown away, what a great start for the year
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10.01.2022 - 15:05
Rating: 7
Metren
Dreadrealm
After three listens, this album’s a frustrating let down after all. Veil Of Imagination was my AOTY in 2019 against a pile of strong competition, but this album is just solid, nothing more. Identifier is a tremendous track worthy of the previous album and boasts the strongest harsh and by far the finest somber moments, but nothing else comes close to that level. The potential to be the next big thing in prog and symphonic metal is there for Wilderun. I think that in order for them to realize that potential, Wilderun’s songwriting calls for less meandering tracks and a far less derivative sound. They are close to making an album for the ages, I hope they don’t blow that chance with their next release. Oh well, time to go headbang to “ The Tyranny Of Imagination” again and dream of what this album might have been and of what might yet be on the horizon.
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12.01.2022 - 18:08
yahkob

Listened to this whole album then one of their old albums played and I had no idea it was a different album ha
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13.01.2022 - 15:25
Rating: 9
Dark Forever
Ruído Sonoro
Veil Of Imagination immediately clicked for me and it was my AOTY in 2019. This one took more spins but the time invested was rewarding in the end. The biggest flaw here is Woolgatherer, its placement in the tracklist and its length make it a difficult track do digest, and I believe people less impressed by their softer, acoustic side loose interest in the album in those first two tracks. Identifier and Distraction (with all parts combined) are truly excellent. 8.7 for me.
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Taste the DARK...
... and you'll live FOREVER!
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13.01.2022 - 15:37
Rating: 9
RaduP
CertifiedHipster
Written by Dark Forever on 13.01.2022 at 15:25

The biggest flaw here is Woolgatherer, its placement in the tracklist and its length make it a difficult track do digest

Saw someone on RYM offer an alternative tracklist with the interludes removed and "Woolfatherer" placed as a closer, and apparently that makes it flow much better.
----
Do you think if the heart keeps on shrinking
One day there will be no heart at all?
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13.01.2022 - 22:17
Rating: 7
LordFezzington
Lost To Apathy
Written by RaduP on 13.01.2022 at 15:37

"Woolfatherer"

Is this a secret bonus track about a stud ram?
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13.01.2022 - 22:22
Rating: 9
RaduP
CertifiedHipster
Written by LordFezzington on 13.01.2022 at 22:17

Written by RaduP on 13.01.2022 at 15:37

"Woolfatherer"

Is this a secret bonus track about a stud ram?

You got me
----
Do you think if the heart keeps on shrinking
One day there will be no heart at all?
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13.01.2022 - 22:50
Rating: 7
LordFezzington
Lost To Apathy
Written by RaduP on 13.01.2022 at 22:22

You got me

A dreadful joke, I know. I can only apologise.
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"Pay no heed to anyone and do what seems right to yourself." - Franz Kafka, The Trial
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14.01.2022 - 11:12
Rating: 6
lust

I do not know.
I couldn't even listen to this album, I won't give any score, I just couldn't catch anything as great as it was praised.

i dont know, maybe i'm just a silly girl.
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