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]
2022, go home, you're already on fire.
I should probably avoid jumping to conclusions from only one data point. Should, would, could… Where's the fun in that, though? Judging by the definitely insubstantial empirical evidence available to me at the moment, 2022 will be an amazing year for metal. Should Epigone turn out to be a statistical outlier, Wilderun certainly starts the new year with a big bang, if nothing else. Come for the review, stay for the hype; this is all the fireworks I need this New Year's Eve.
It's not immediately apparent, seeing as how Epigone certainly takes its sweet time unveiling its genius. In fact, I'm positive Wilderun like to tease their listeners to no end. It opens with four minutes of acoustic strumming and mellow singer-songwritering that ends in a noisy crescendo that turns out to be one hell of a red herring, as the first half of the fifteen-minute "Woolgatherer" brings more of the same. Yeah, it's that sort of album. The sort that demands your full attention while trying your patience. The sort that expects a scented candlelight ritual while played on vinyl (sorry guys, I have to make do with an unwieldy promo stream), and spends much of its time mostly hinting at the excellency buried within. You know what? It seriously works. It shouldn't, but it really does. There are so many amazing little moments sprinkled throughout Wilderun’s progressive, cinematic storytelling that they manage to keep even my admittedly lacklustre attention span along for the entire ride, and I'm still coming back for more.
At risk of permanent disgrace (nothing to lose there, actually), I'll say Epigone is what I always wished Opeth were. Yeah, I'm a Swede, and I never liked Opeth. They're super boring. Write a big headline about it, won't you? Nah, don't. Instead, write a big headline about the sheer pleasure of hearing the band finally bring out the death growls and blast beats halfway through the second track, and about the infuriating way they seem admirably content with just putting it out there before returning to mellow, acoustic noodling for several more minutes. Write a big one about the absolutely massive chugging riff in "Passenger", that's over as soon as it enters, never to return. Or write about how the incredible highlight "Ambition" jumps between sections of prog death bliss, seriously hard-rocking riffs, and vivid soundscapes that amount to the closest aural approximation of open eye visuals I've heard since, uh, next year. Why am I telling you what to write about; I'm already writing it? Well, because you're going to spread the word and make sure any fan of progressive and symphonic music does themselves the service of giving Epigone that full attention it demands and deserves. I haven't even followed along with the lyrics; I really don't need to. The vivid images Wilderun paint with their expansive, ambitious music speak for themselves.
There are tiny hiccups, of course. The way most of the clean, subdued sections never really stick to my memory bugs me, but only until the next jaw-dropping moment of prog metal mayhem. The synth interlude does nothing for the album, and feels very out of place. The album ends as discreetly as it opens, without the big fanfare expected. It takes balls to play this sort of music. It takes confidence to demand your listeners' attention. Furthermore, it takes a mercurial personality to subvert expectations over and over, but Wilderun have got balls, confidence, and mercuriality in spades, and they aren't even afraid to be annoyingly low-key about it.
Epigone makes me forget, and re-remember, that good things may indeed come to those who wait, and can be made even better partly thanks to the wait. Epigone does it over and over, even several times within a single song. It's not a perfect album, but its shortcomings are negligible, and it's a masterpiece for sure.
Oh shit. The last two Wilderun albums were masterpieces and if this one is too I think the world might explode.
The world might explode next year, indeed. Maybe cuz Wilderun, maybe not, but this album is a masterpiece, yeah. I didn't listen properly to their former one, but binged Sleep At The Edge Of The Earth like crazy.
Why the hell, radio edit? The full version is on Spotify, anyway. Yum yum.
That's how Mr. Bungle and Melvins got me in the 90's - olfactory masochism. conceivably could count for domestic abuse. but I came back for more...
...to qualify for any of that in the 1st place, though - the album's gotta seem to have somethin you can't put your finger on - even if you're not really enjoying it yet. The Art of Growers is written by a provocateur, indeed
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No one can fend off 100 multi-colored Draculas
That's how Mr. Bungle and Melvins got me in the 90's - olfactory masochism. conceivably could count for domestic abuse. but I came back for more...
...to qualify for any of that in the 1st place, though - the album's gotta seem to have somethin you can't put your finger on - even if you're not really enjoying it yet. The Art of Growers is written by a provocateur, indeed
It did take a bunch of listens for me to warm up to some things I took issue with at first. Thought the clean sections were somewhat bland, the track list was iffy, things like that. They all grew to be reasons to like the album even more, and that's a pretty damn cool thing.
I liked opeth long ago, but now I hate it, boring band. What's whit a radiohead cover, who does listen that band, it's belong to the past and should be kept there.
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Life is to short for LOVE, there is many great things to do online !!!
Stormtroopers of Death - ''Speak English or Die''
apos;'
[image]
I better die, because I never will learn speek english, so I choose dieing
Great review! It highlights what I'm expecting for this album, in particular another cinematic experience. Since my rug really ties the room together, I think I'll lay out on it when the vinyl arrives and go through the whole thing.
The singles were already super promising.
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That rug really tied the room together, did it not?
First listen almost bored me out of my mind, just like previous Wilderun albums. I found the Distraction tracks a bit more engaging than the rest, but nothing to really write home about. I'll give it another try in a few weeks though, as that kind of music historically needs a bit of digesting to actually click with me.
One question: you mention Ambition as one "incredible highlight", but on Spotify Ambition is a 2:40 ambient track. So, did you mix things up or is that one of the usual Spotify tracklist fuck-ups?
I enjoyed Veil a lot, but this one doesn't click with me one bit. It has its moments and overall is a nice album, but it's a considerable downgrade from Veil imo. It's a 6,5, 7/10 tops.
First listen almost bored me out of my mind, just like previous Wilderun albums. I found the Distraction tracks a bit more engaging than the rest, but nothing to really write home about. I'll give it another try in a few weeks though, as that kind of music historically needs a bit of digesting to actually click with me.
One question: you mention Ambition as one "incredible highlight", but on Spotify Ambition is a 2:40 ambient track. So, did you mix things up or is that one of the usual Spotify tracklist fuck-ups?
You're right, I mixed them up, I was referring to "Identifier", I'll fix it, cheers! The album needed some time to click with me too and I wish it'd had more metal moments at times. I'm not sure how it'll go down in history for me but at the time I was checking it out it really struck a chord with me eventually.
I can certainly appreciate the cinematic nature of some elements of this - 'Distraction III' for example. Also really like 'Passenger' and 'Identifier'. Overall, found it not the most engaging listen and in need of some serious editing though.
Having said that, thank you for the review, Netzach; always like to read reviews when an album clearly made somebody happy!
I can certainly appreciate the cinematic nature of some elements of this - 'Distraction III' for example. Also really like 'Passenger' and 'Identifier'. Overall, found it not the most engaging listen and in need of some serious editing though.
Having said that, thank you for the review, Netzach; always like to read reviews when an album clearly made somebody happy!
Could be an aspect of listening to it on walks through the snowy woods here in Sweden, we'll see how it holds up. Some parts of it need editing indeed, but the good parts (of which there are a lot) are too good to pass up. Happy you liked the review!
Not feeling it, but that's okay. Obviously well crafted and appreciated by others. I'm just looking for something with more surprises in the arrangement where this one had good manners and remained familiar throughout.
This album is so similar to Opeth's music, that it totally baffles me that you dislike Opeth and like Wilderun. "Epigone" is somewhere between "Blackwater Park" and "Ghost Reveries" with a dab of later-era, non-metal Opeth. (Plus some blast beats and minus the memorability of Opeth...) I appreciate why the band wants to include so many mellow, semi-acoustic passages, but these passages are quite hit and miss, with a lot more misses than hits. Also, odd time signatures sometimes feel forced, and don't carry the music too well, which begs the question why they're there in the first place.
All that said, I'll keep listening to the album, maybe my opinion will change to a more positive one. Certainly there is quite a lot to unpack.
Thank you. I thought I was the only one who doesn't "get" this band.
That said, I find Opeth pretty boring too (solidarity to Netzach!), so I guess not liking Wilderun is to be expected.
I'm a bit of what you could call a pre-Watershed Opeth fanboy (down with Netzach!) so my opinion may be a little biased, but I find Opeth way superior to Wilderun in terms of songwriting, atmosphere, catchiness and overall mastery of that specific sound. I actually agree with this:
This album is so similar to Opeth's music, that it totally baffles me that you dislike Opeth and like Wilderun. "Epigone" is somewhere between "Blackwater Park" and "Ghost Reveries" with a dab of later-era, non-metal Opeth. (Plus some blast beats and minus the memorability of Opeth...)
I'll wait for you to show me the Opeth song that has soaring "gang" vocals. Or that track where an orchestral arrangement single-handedly sets up the foundation for rock instruments to build upon. Also the non-metal Opeth comparison isn't saying much, considering that stuff is pretty derivative in itself.
Classic "death metal bits + prog rock = Opeth" hole, but I expect you to climb out of it on further listens at least somewhat
I'll wait for you to show me the Opeth song that has soaring "gang" vocals. Or that track where an orchestral arrangement single-handedly sets up the foundation for rock instruments to build upon.
A few minor differences don't change the overall impression that I'm listening to Opeth's epigones, pun intended (as might be the album's title if you think about it).