I've listened to this 2-3 times and I think Blind? had more memorable songs with some unforgettable vocal melodies. I really think Whyzdom should write their lyrics in French, the accent makes me roll my eyes sometimes. The music is good and different as usual.

I agree with the melodies setting this band apart from the norm of the genre. They seem to come heavier, with the orchestra more complimenting the music rather than overpowering. I also enjoyed the varied tones of the vocalist as mentioned in the review. She seems talented and I could see her really coming into her own on future albums.

Symphonic isn't my cup of tea these days but I think if it's a favored genre of yours then you should check these guys out.

As the genre has been stagnating since many years ago.... I argree lad, but mainly because media labels and so on

I disagree the genre is stagnating. Every genre has great bands, good bands, and generic crap, like Whyzdom.

Written by PocketMetal on 29.03.2015 at 22:56

I've listened to this 2-3 times and I think Blind? had more memorable songs with some unforgettable vocal melodies. I really think Whyzdom should write their lyrics in French, the accent makes me roll my eyes sometimes. The music is good and different as usual.

Each to their own I guess. I found Blind? less gripping and while it was nice, I can't recall much from it after a while, whereas I find myself humming to bits and pieces of tunes from Symphony For A Hopeless God.

Written by Susan on 30.03.2015 at 01:16

I disagree the genre is stagnating. Every genre has great bands, good bands, and generic crap, like Whyzdom.

so you're saying Whyzdom is generic crap? o.o

Hey, thanks for the review, AG Fox. I'm glad you liked the album ! (for those unaware, I am Vynce Leff from Whyzdom, and i like chatting with listeners on Metal Storm).

@PocketMetal : Thank you for your comment, yes Blind? is an album we like a lot. I would say that in this one, we wanted to give a rawer edge to the songs. Marie has a more powerful tone than Elvyne, so we were naturally drawn to that side of things. But we also thought that lately, symphonic metal bands had a tendency to be lazy on the guitar side, that's why we emphasized heavy (thrash at times) riffs on Symphony. So, AG Fox comment "no poppy sound" brought a smile on my face . About french and accent, well, you know, it's complicated. I used to write songs in french 20 years ago, but the label who signed us asked me to re-do everything in english... so...

@Lionthrone : I'm really really really happy to read your comment "the melodies setting this band apart from the norm of the genre", because, that's a huge point of our work. We really work a lot on the melody.

@Susan : I'm sorry that you consider Whyzdom as "generic crap". It's absolutely normal that some people hate our music. I generally don't react to negative comments, but I was wondering about your word "generic". I'm pretty sure you can find dozens reasons to dislike our music. But I don't feel that "generic" describes our music well. I have tons of examples, but here is one : in our single "While The Witches Burn", we worked a lot on the refrain : if you listen closely, you'll find that the time signature is not "generic 4/4" (which is the time signature of 99,9999% of rock/metal songs). So in this case, it seems to me that this song is definitely not "generic". - which does not mean that it's not crap (it's up to you to like it or not). I have tons of other examples, like atonal orchestrations in Daughter of The Night, or Cathedral of the Damned, or the use of woodwinds, which is very rare in symphonic metal bands, or the use of staccato/pizzicato articulations, etc, etc...

Cheers !

Whyzdom isn' a band I usually like very much, but somehow, their song "Atlantis" is one of my favorite songs ever. I'll definetively try this album someday.

Thank you for this review (Y)

I like that symphonic metal is still being reviewed positively on this site. I personally like the sound of Whyzdom, while not greatly original, nor do I particularly like the vocals either, the music is really bombastic and quite heavy at times.

Much of what I disliked in the previous album has been corrected here. Good album, one of the better symphonic metal releases this year, and one that does not forget to be original in its own way. Strong songwriting, good instrumental performance, a satisfying (at times, wonderful) vocal delivery and so on. I think many longrunning or newcomming symphonic metal bands should notice Whyzdom, as it stands above like 80% of what this scene has to offer today.

It's a pleasant surprise to come here and see Vynce chiming in. Congrats on the release of your new album! I purchased several songs on this release and plan on checking out your older work as well. Thanks for all the hard work.

Written by whyzdom on 30.03.2015 at 19:43

Hey, thanks for the review, AG Fox. I'm glad you liked the album ! (for those unaware, I am Vynce Leff from Whyzdom, and i like chatting with listeners on Metal Storm).

Thanks for reading o.o
I really enjoyed your album, and Whyzdom really has their own identity and compose songs that has replay value, but it's more so in this album (= I also totally agree with you that symphonic metal bands get really lazy with the guitars (instead, they try to stand apart by being folky or something), and I always prefer the heavier side of things. I suspect you guys might do something different next time, so let's see!

I don't know about how the album would turn out with French lyrics, but I really had no problem understanding Marie without looking at the lyrics sheet. I think you guys should choose a song and record it with french lyrics, then let the fans vote on which version they prefer. I don't think there's anything to lose in doing that