WASTEFALL - SELF EXILE

WASTEFALL - SELF EXILE

Disk 1: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51:07
1) Intro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1:05
2) Willow Man . . . . . . . . . . . . 4:04
3) The Muzzle Affection . . . . . 5:26
4) Dance Of Descent . . . . . . 3:36
5) Another Empty Haven . . . . 5:54
6) Strife For Definiton . . . . . . 4:49
7) Sleepwalk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4:37
8) E. Y. E. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4:44
9) Utopia Fragmented . . . . . . . 6:42
10) Minutes To Abandon . . . . . 3:55
11) Provoke The Divine . . . . . . . 6:13

Lineup:
Domenik Papaemmanouil: lead vocals, guitars
Alex Katsiyiannis: guitars, backing vocals
Christos Kyrkilis: keyboards
Nick Valetzis: bass
Kostis Papaleksopoulos: drums & percussion

Format: Single CD • sensory Records # SR3031
release date: June 6, 2006

Wastefall's official website at
http://www.wastefall.com

Now this is incredibly cool stuff! Wastefall is a heavy prog metal band with a twist... they include sounds of their country of origin, Greece, into their music, as well as a little bit of jazzy funk fusion and eastern themes at times! Ouzo prog metal? Their compositions are quite original, Domenik has a gorgeous voice that never strains, a bit reminiscent of Daniel Gildenlow of PoS and Flower Kings. You will find similarities to the styles of Symphony X, Evermore and Pain Of Salvation in their music.

Their latest album, Self Exile, is a perfect balance of heavy metal and progressive music, powerful and relentless, yet elaborate with many clever tempo changes and a variety of themes and styles. Brilliant musicianship from all the players, the guitar work from Alex Katsiyiannis is brilliant, a wicked shredder. The drummer, Kostis Papaleksopoulos, should lay off a little bit on the bass drum, that overexuberant "prprprprpr" sounds just a bit dated, but aside from that, his style is very sharp, precise and varied. The keyboard portions are a bit low in the mix, at times.

Self Exile clocks in at just above 51 minutes and is composed of 11 tracks, beginning with Intro, a very eerie, eastern-influenced vocal passage to the track Willow Man, a complex intense composition with many time signatures and layered vocals, great guitar licks on that one. The Muzzle Affection is a relentless, agressive track, quite elaborate, and features lovely female vocals during jazzy passages, a great musical paradox. Dance Of Descent adds a bit of the greek rhythms with bouzouki-sounding passages, over a eastern theme, quite an original and captivating track. Another Empty Haven begins with an intense, syncopated intro, one of the wildest, most intense compositions of the album, it will incite you to do a bit of "air guitar" ! Strife For Definition has an ethereal quality, slowly building into a a great hard rock sound. Sleepwalk is another slow-paced track, a somber ballad... the sound of the weeping lady towards the end detracts a bit from the otherwise interesting composition. E. Y. E. in contrast to the previous track wakes you up big time with an apocalyptic power intro, a highly rhythmic track with deliciously contrasting times signatures, great vocals on this one! Utopia Fragmented is a cool track, with passages reminiscent of Dream Theater and Karcius, a composition with an eastern theme, and headbanger rhythms. Minutes To Abandon begins with a smooth acoustic guitar intro, a quiet ballad with a dramatic melody. Provoke The Divine highlights the bass work of Nick Valetzis, a great vocal performance from Domenik on this one.

Overall, great sound, a well-balanced suite of tracks, excellent production quality and added points for the originality of their compositions. Excellent driving music, very dynamic and intense compositions, tight musical arrangements... an album that will spin often in my player.

My rating for Self Exile : 7.7/10(album reviewed by Robert Dansereau 13/07/2006)