#wilderun — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #wilderun, aggregated by home.social.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3MKHUWd68M
Inesperado cover de una de las canciones más reconocibles de los experimentales (y casi ambientales) Radiohead, Wilderun toma Everything is in the Right Place y hacen lo que le da la gana con ella... y mola.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3MKHUWd68M
Inesperado cover de una de las canciones más reconocibles de los experimentales (y casi ambientales) Radiohead, Wilderun toma Everything is in the Right Place y hacen lo que le da la gana con ella... y mola.
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Elettra Storm – Evertale Review
By ClarkKent
Italy has a well-established power metal scene, particularly the ostentatious Rhapsody of Fire and the dazzling Frozen Crown. Looking to make a foothold in this scene is Elettra Storm with the release of their sophomore album, Evertale. While it may look like a strange word for those not fluent in Italian, Elettra comes from the Greek mythological figure, Electra/Elektra. It also serves as a root word for electricity, which helps explain both the odd-sounding band name and the storm surrounding the head of the woman on the cover. This quintet isn’t looking to reinvent the cheese wheel; they just want to write some catchy songs and give their lead singer, Crystal Emiliani, a chance to show off her pipes. Do they have that spark to set the power metal world on fire?
While people like to tease that Wilderun is Disney metal, if Disney were to actually sign a metal artist, they would likely sound like Elettra Storm. They straddle the line between power metal and hard rock mixed with some pop. They don’t quite bring the dance vibes like Battle Beast, but their power metal also isn’t as aggressive or hard-hitting as Frozen Crown. Guitar riffs and drum beats are relatively muted, though not without a lively energy, as Elettra Storm largely plays it safe instrumentally. Instead, they rely on the strength of their frontwoman, and Emiliani delivers. She channels a mix of Disney-friendly pop artists from Idina Menzel to Celine Dion. On “Blue Phoenix,” I half-expected Emiliani to break out into “Let it go” when she buoyantly sings the refrain “And rise again,” while “Secrets of the Universe” has a moment where her voice briefly brought me back to that titanic hit from decades ago.
For power metal of this caliber to work, the choruses need to be catchy, but on this score, Evertale is a mixed bag. It’s not that the choruses are a miss, but that they’re often forgettable. It doesn’t help that the lyrics tend to be convoluted. On “Hero Among Heroes,” Emiliani sings “Hero among heroes / Rise the sword up in the sky / Strong of arm and mind”—this ESL tendency hampers catchiness. Evertale also suffers a general lack of hooks. For the most part, riffs are bland, standard rock fare, and melodies are nil. Opener “Endgame” has some hooky synths, but Elettra Storm rarely returns to them on the rest of the record. “Master of Fairytales” also shows potential when it opens with energetic blast beats and a decent chorus, but the song drops that energy the rest of the way. “Blue Phoenix,” on the other hand, is proof they have the capability of writing really good power metal. It has Evertale’s most creative riffs, a consistent level of energy, and a chorus that soars in a dazzling display like the mythological bird. In the end, Elettra Storm could learn a lot from studying stalwarts of catchy power metal like Unleash the Archers.
Elettra Storm actually feels most at home on the lone track that’s geared more towards pop than metal: “One Last Ray of Light.” This tune eschews the usual power metal trappings of noodly riffs and high energy. It features a piano and what sounds like a mandolin playing a lovely melody.1 Then the chorus hits and the real magic happens. Emiliani’s voice rises to a beautiful lilt as she belts out the catchiest chorus on Evertale. The song is a certifiable banger, and it is also where Elettra Storm sounds most comfortable. Between this and “Blue Phoenix,” Elettra Storm have it in them to write some great power metal—if only they could apply these successes to the rest of Evertale.
The end result is an album that is pleasantly bland, with tracks ranging from forgettable to slightly above average, as well as a couple that are quite good. I won’t deny that I sometimes find myself whistling a random tune like “Judgment Time” while I’m out and about. Evertale hits that sweet spot between power metal and adult pop/rock where it could find an audience in either genre. Elettra Storm provides an electric vocalist, a little bit of guitar noodling, and radio rock song structures that make it a pleasant in-the-moment listen. But the record fails to take many risks or hit many of the highs the genre is capable of. Instead, it plays things a little too safe and doesn’t quite live up to its elettra-fying name.
Rating: 2.5/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 256 kbps mp3
Label: Scarlet Records
Websites: Bandcamp | Facebook
Releases Worldwide: October 24th, 2025#25 #2025 #BattleBeast #CelineDion #ElettraStorm #Evertale #FrozenCrown #HardRock #IdinaMenzel #ItalianMetal #Oct25 #PowerMetal #Review #Reviews #RhapsodyOfFire #ScarletRecords #UnleashTheArchers #Wilderun
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Elettra Storm – Evertale Review
By ClarkKent
Italy has a well-established power metal scene, particularly the ostentatious Rhapsody of Fire and the dazzling Frozen Crown. Looking to make a foothold in this scene is Elettra Storm with the release of their sophomore album, Evertale. While it may look like a strange word for those not fluent in Italian, Elettra comes from the Greek mythological figure, Electra/Elektra. It also serves as a root word for electricity, which helps explain both the odd-sounding band name and the storm surrounding the head of the woman on the cover. This quintet isn’t looking to reinvent the cheese wheel; they just want to write some catchy songs and give their lead singer, Crystal Emiliani, a chance to show off her pipes. Do they have that spark to set the power metal world on fire?
While people like to tease that Wilderun is Disney metal, if Disney were to actually sign a metal artist, they would likely sound like Elettra Storm. They straddle the line between power metal and hard rock mixed with some pop. They don’t quite bring the dance vibes like Battle Beast, but their power metal also isn’t as aggressive or hard-hitting as Frozen Crown. Guitar riffs and drum beats are relatively muted, though not without a lively energy, as Elettra Storm largely plays it safe instrumentally. Instead, they rely on the strength of their frontwoman, and Emiliani delivers. She channels a mix of Disney-friendly pop artists from Idina Menzel to Celine Dion. On “Blue Phoenix,” I half-expected Emiliani to break out into “Let it go” when she buoyantly sings the refrain “And rise again,” while “Secrets of the Universe” has a moment where her voice briefly brought me back to that titanic hit from decades ago.
For power metal of this caliber to work, the choruses need to be catchy, but on this score, Evertale is a mixed bag. It’s not that the choruses are a miss, but that they’re often forgettable. It doesn’t help that the lyrics tend to be convoluted. On “Hero Among Heroes,” Emiliani sings “Hero among heroes / Rise the sword up in the sky / Strong of arm and mind”—this ESL tendency hampers catchiness. Evertale also suffers a general lack of hooks. For the most part, riffs are bland, standard rock fare, and melodies are nil. Opener “Endgame” has some hooky synths, but Elettra Storm rarely returns to them on the rest of the record. “Master of Fairytales” also shows potential when it opens with energetic blast beats and a decent chorus, but the song drops that energy the rest of the way. “Blue Phoenix,” on the other hand, is proof they have the capability of writing really good power metal. It has Evertale’s most creative riffs, a consistent level of energy, and a chorus that soars in a dazzling display like the mythological bird. In the end, Elettra Storm could learn a lot from studying stalwarts of catchy power metal like Unleash the Archers.
Elettra Storm actually feels most at home on the lone track that’s geared more towards pop than metal: “One Last Ray of Light.” This tune eschews the usual power metal trappings of noodly riffs and high energy. It features a piano and what sounds like a mandolin playing a lovely melody.1 Then the chorus hits and the real magic happens. Emiliani’s voice rises to a beautiful lilt as she belts out the catchiest chorus on Evertale. The song is a certifiable banger, and it is also where Elettra Storm sounds most comfortable. Between this and “Blue Phoenix,” Elettra Storm have it in them to write some great power metal—if only they could apply these successes to the rest of Evertale.
The end result is an album that is pleasantly bland, with tracks ranging from forgettable to slightly above average, as well as a couple that are quite good. I won’t deny that I sometimes find myself whistling a random tune like “Judgment Time” while I’m out and about. Evertale hits that sweet spot between power metal and adult pop/rock where it could find an audience in either genre. Elettra Storm provides an electric vocalist, a little bit of guitar noodling, and radio rock song structures that make it a pleasant in-the-moment listen. But the record fails to take many risks or hit many of the highs the genre is capable of. Instead, it plays things a little too safe and doesn’t quite live up to its elettra-fying name.
Rating: 2.5/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 256 kbps mp3
Label: Scarlet Records
Websites: Bandcamp | Facebook
Releases Worldwide: October 24th, 2025#25 #2025 #BattleBeast #CelineDion #ElettraStorm #Evertale #FrozenCrown #HardRock #IdinaMenzel #ItalianMetal #Oct25 #PowerMetal #Review #Reviews #RhapsodyOfFire #ScarletRecords #UnleashTheArchers #Wilderun
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Angry Metal Guy Speaks: 10,000 Posts
By Angry Metal Guy
There’s almost no good way to mark these anniversaries without getting a little self-referential, maybe a little maudlin… or without tooting your own horn until you’re red in the face and everyone’s embarrassed. Still, it has come to my attention that this is the 10,000th post of AngryMetalGuy.com. Actually, as of this writing, the number of posts in the entire system is supremely metal 10,666. Also, we have something like 600 drafts that never saw the light of day and 49 pending posts that have never been published.1 To say that we’ve been productive carries with it a drunk Bilbo Bagginsesque tone of bemusement.
“My, we have been productive.”
During the 16ish years of unbound fecundity that it took for us to reach this dubious landmark, many a writer or would-be writer (over 60, at this point) has spilled internet ink within these unhallowed halls. We have extolled the virtues and excoriated the shortcomings of wonderful records and forgettable platters. We’ve opined, and raged, and littered the page with so many puns and dad jokes that you’d think this website was the patriarch of a family of 10. The total result of this hard work has resulted in been 8,032,385 words that have been written.2 Divide that by 10,000, and that’s an average of about 803 words per post—53 more than our max review length.3 The Year of Our Angry Overlord, 2019, was our most productive year ever. It saw us jam through 983 posts—a mind-numbing number if you think about it for long enough. Our longest average posts to date were last year, in 2024, where our average post had 955 words. I can’t even imagine how that’s possible, but there you go.4
And what are the core bits of writing that really drive readership? Well, here’s where the horn tootin’ comes in. Of our Top 20(ish) posts, 10 are Angry Metal Guy’s Top Ten(ish) Record(s) o’ the Year lists (with 2015 taking the cake for the most read post of all time). Three more of those are other lists: songs 50-41 of my Top 50 Heavy Metal Songs list; 10-1 of that same list; and my Top 15(ish) of the 2000s. The most viewed non-list was Steel Druhm‘s April Fool’s post from last year about Ripper Owens leaving KK’s Priest for BB’s Maiden. And then there’s the reviews. El Cuervo‘s review of Opeth The Last Will and Testament,5 my review of In Flames’ Foregone, Druhm‘s review of Megadeth’s The Sick, the Dying…and the Dead!, both Veil of Imagination and Epigone (landing very close to each other in terms of views and written by El Cuervo and myself), Batushka’s Litourgiya (TYMHM from 2015, penned by our dear [not actually] deceased Roquentin), and my review of Opeth’s Pale Communion round out the Top 20 posts.6
And even after all this time, we are still changing the world and keeping up with the times by spreading disinformation about incorrigible self-Googler Ripper Owens. That Ripper Owens post that was posted on April 1st, 2024, has moved from parody into objective fact, as it has been picked up by Google’s AI as the answer to the question: “Is Ripper Owens still in KK’s Priest?” The answer? “No, Tim ‘Ripper’ Owens is not currently with KK’s Priest. He left the band in early 2024 to pursue a new project with former Iron Maiden vocalist Blaze Bayley.” A round of applause for both Druhm and the superiority and inevitability of AI!7
What do I take away from this list? Well, aside from pride at what I—nay, we—have wrought, it pays to review big bands’ records if you want a lot of views. I know that’s tough to imagine, but there we are. Better, however, than the super obvious thing is that I’m particularly proud of how we helped to spread the word about Wilderun and Batushka. But this list also brings with it some melancholy and nostalgia. Seeing Druhm and me as the only active writers on this list is a bit of a bummer. But as time moves on, we’ll make new memories with new exploited writers who will pen review after review without compensation, only to watch us feast ourselves even fatter on the spoils of our seniority.
And the raft of contributors who have come and gone deserve recognition. In the end, I want to thank everyone who has contributed to making Angry Metal Guy what it has become over the years—from the Potatoes Jim of the world to the Steels Druhm.8 Without you, this would never have happened. I appreciate the blood, sweat, and/or tears that you have put into carrying my boulder up that hill every day. And so even though your names aren’t at the top of this list, know that I tolerate each one of you with the same cold-hearted disinterest that I always have. Your service has been noted.
As for you readers? Without you, it would’ve taken a lot of refreshing my browser and switching between VPNs to get enough daily readers, so as to result in a desire to keep pushing on until we hit 10,000 posts. So, thank you for your loyalty over the years. We love (most) of your comments. We enjoy (most) of your opinions. And we are (entirely) happy that you spend your hard-earned money on the bands we love, and thank you for your trust. You reading, listening, and supporting the scene means we’re all making the world a better place one overwritten review or blog post at a time.
#2025 #AngryMetalGuySpeaks #Batushka #BlogPost #BlogPosts #Disillusion #InFlames #Landmarks #Megadeth #Opeth #Wilderun
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Angry Metal Guy Speaks: 10,000 Posts
By Angry Metal Guy
There’s almost no good way to mark these anniversaries without getting a little self-referential, maybe a little maudlin… or without tooting your own horn until you’re red in the face and everyone’s embarrassed. Still, it has come to my attention that this is the 10,000th post of AngryMetalGuy.com. Actually, as of this writing, the number of posts in the entire system is supremely metal 10,666. Also, we have something like 600 drafts that never saw the light of day and 49 pending posts that have never been published.1 To say that we’ve been productive carries with it a drunk Bilbo Bagginsesque tone of bemusement.
“My, we have been productive.”
During the 16ish years of unbound fecundity that it took for us to reach this dubious landmark, many a writer or would-be writer (over 60, at this point) has spilled internet ink within these unhallowed halls. We have extolled the virtues and excoriated the shortcomings of wonderful records and forgettable platters. We’ve opined, and raged, and littered the page with so many puns and dad jokes that you’d think this website was the patriarch of a family of 10. The total result of this hard work has resulted in been 8,032,385 words that have been written.2 Divide that by 10,000, and that’s an average of about 803 words per post—53 more than our max review length.3 The Year of Our Angry Overlord, 2019, was our most productive year ever. It saw us jam through 983 posts—a mind-numbing number if you think about it for long enough. Our longest average posts to date were last year, in 2024, where our average post had 955 words. I can’t even imagine how that’s possible, but there you go.4
And what are the core bits of writing that really drive readership? Well, here’s where the horn tootin’ comes in. Of our Top 20(ish) posts, 10 are Angry Metal Guy’s Top Ten(ish) Record(s) o’ the Year lists (with 2015 taking the cake for the most read post of all time). Three more of those are other lists: songs 50-41 of my Top 50 Heavy Metal Songs list; 10-1 of that same list; and my Top 15(ish) of the 2000s. The most viewed non-list was Steel Druhm‘s April Fool’s post from last year about Ripper Owens leaving KK’s Priest for BB’s Maiden. And then there’s the reviews. El Cuervo‘s review of Opeth The Last Will and Testament,5 my review of In Flames’ Foregone, Druhm‘s review of Megadeth’s The Sick, the Dying…and the Dead!, both Veil of Imagination and Epigone (landing very close to each other in terms of views and written by El Cuervo and myself), Batushka’s Litourgiya (TYMHM from 2015, penned by our dear [not actually] deceased Roquentin), and my review of Opeth’s Pale Communion round out the Top 20 posts.6
And even after all this time, we are still changing the world and keeping up with the times by spreading disinformation about incorrigible self-Googler Ripper Owens. That Ripper Owens post that was posted on April 1st, 2024, has moved from parody into objective fact, as it has been picked up by Google’s AI as the answer to the question: “Is Ripper Owens still in KK’s Priest?” The answer? “No, Tim ‘Ripper’ Owens is not currently with KK’s Priest. He left the band in early 2024 to pursue a new project with former Iron Maiden vocalist Blaze Bayley.” A round of applause for both Druhm and the superiority and inevitability of AI!7
What do I take away from this list? Well, aside from pride at what I—nay, we—have wrought, it pays to review big bands’ records if you want a lot of views. I know that’s tough to imagine, but there we are. Better, however, than the super obvious thing is that I’m particularly proud of how we helped to spread the word about Wilderun and Batushka. But this list also brings with it some melancholy and nostalgia. Seeing Druhm and me as the only active writers on this list is a bit of a bummer. But as time moves on, we’ll make new memories with new exploited writers who will pen review after review without compensation, only to watch us feast ourselves even fatter on the spoils of our seniority.
And the raft of contributors who have come and gone deserve recognition. In the end, I want to thank everyone who has contributed to making Angry Metal Guy what it has become over the years—from the Potatoes Jim of the world to the Steels Druhm.8 Without you, this would never have happened. I appreciate the blood, sweat, and/or tears that you have put into carrying my boulder up that hill every day. And so even though your names aren’t at the top of this list, know that I tolerate each one of you with the same cold-hearted disinterest that I always have. Your service has been noted.
As for you readers? Without you, it would’ve taken a lot of refreshing my browser and switching between VPNs to get enough daily readers, so as to result in a desire to keep pushing on until we hit 10,000 posts. So, thank you for your loyalty over the years. We love (most) of your comments. We enjoy (most) of your opinions. And we are (entirely) happy that you spend your hard-earned money on the bands we love, and thank you for your trust. You reading, listening, and supporting the scene means we’re all making the world a better place one overwritten review or blog post at a time.
Show 8 footnotes
- This was basically us ghosting writers we didn’t like, from what I can tell. ↩
- Including 6,000 words spilled on Panopticon just earlier today! ↩
- Literally no one follows the rules around here. ↩
- Oooh, we just posted a 6,000-word Panopticon retrospective. I am starting to understand. ↩
- I do have two very long footnotes in there, so I take partial credit for it. ↩
- Ish is Disillusion Ayam by GardensTale ↩
- There being two apparent sources (one of them being Reddit!) means that it’s an objective fact! ↩
- The exceptions know who they are. ↩
#2025 #AngryMetalGuySpeaks #Batushka #BlogPost #BlogPosts #Disillusion #InFlames #Landmarks #Megadeth #Opeth #Wilderun
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If Lidarr hadn't told me it had updated the digital version I had, I wouldn't have known that this bonus track existed at all.
For @DXMacGuffin's #FridayMetalCovers:#Wilderun: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
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By Dear Hollow
It’s sexy when things you love collide with things you hate. My lust for mathcore is well-established – I go hard for that mind-numbing dyscalculic tinnitus any day – but if you put a slab of prog metal in front of me, I’m gonna go as flaccid as a gummy worm in a hot car faster than you can say “Wilderun.” That’s Benthos. The Italian collective slides a platter of progressive rock’s lush, ambivalent, and emotive movements alongside mathcore’s jagged edges and feral energy, and you’re guaranteed to find something you’ll love and hate – and get hot and bothered by. It’s core’s sellout and prog’s elitism personified in the dichotomy of the heavenly and hellish – yet in your divinely appointed and coarsely deadly free will, you decide which is which. In the words of the wisest, “yeet and yoink” with this particular Haken-themed hatefuck.
Benthos has been around since 2018, and gained recognition in their hometown of Milan by opening for The Contortionist and appearing in the Dissonance Festival in 2023. From Nothing is their debut full-length, although they released the ironically titled EP/mini-album II in 2021. Settled upon a foundation of lush melodies and evasive chord progressions before exploding into frantic Dillinger-inspired rhythm abuse, the act wavers between super serious and frantically silly, soulful cleans colliding haphazardly with demonic shrieks. From Nothing is ambitious in fusing two styles strangely congruous but also not at all, but in the end Benthos is exactly split down the middle, its arrhythmic beatdowns stealing the spotlight from masturbatory prog sections, blurring into some ambivalently erotic background.
First glances of Benthos are synth-heavy progressions and killer vocals. Gabriele Landillo has a formidable set of pipes, their post-hardcore-meets-Chino Moreno vibe lending a creeping sexiness (“Let Me Plunge,” “The Giant Child”) and a desperate belt that adds serious dynamic and show-stealing propensity (“From Nothing,” “Pure”), keeping the more uninteresting passages from descending into drearier monotony. Without careful listening, however, the proggier tracks blur together in a blurry pastel mesh in sprawling layered atmospheric rock tricks – serious synth on guitar action – with interspersed chuggy portions, feeling like a less nuanced songwriting a la (recent) The Contortionist or The Fall of Troy. Speaking of your favorite dark romance crooner Chino, From Nothing feels quite a bit like Deftones’ Gore in its decision to put include metal as a mere monument marker on the jaded journey to the pits of prog – ultimately, a bit of a cockblock. Benthos mixing is likewise stellar, Alberto Fiorani’s dummy thicc bass as audible as the cheek-clapping guitars and slamming drums.
Of its two audio halves, Benthos’ more chaotic mathcore attacks offer the best listening experience. After the vastly longwinded four-song introductory blur, the intro to “As a Cordyceps” introduces what makes From Nothing worth a bit more. Practically brimming with energy, the mathcore technicality and hardcore intensity finally kick in. This continues into the easy highlights that dispense the prog fluff into something that feels cutthroat and quirky, wonky leads weaponized with nimble and mind-bending rhythms (“Fossil,” “Athletic Worms,” “Perpetual Drone Monkeys”). These give Benthos more breathing room when the proggy sensibilities raise their ill-smelling feet, offering nuance to otherwise unwelcoming rooms. These also incorporate more of these chunkier vibes into more mundane moments, letting the rhythms inject a tasteful – albeit short-lived – dose of intensity (“The Giant Child,” “Pure”).
The best and worst part about From Nothing is that Benthos manages to sound both bored to tears and absolutely apeshit depending on which part you tune into. Its moments of unhinged insanity are too few and far between to warrant consistency or balance… or a solid recommendation. But if you’re like Dolphin Whisperer and like your music hot and heavy, while disrobing From Nothing’s many sexy layers and textured sprawls, take a cold shower before venturing out to pick up a copy.1 Benthos offers promise with the softness for the foreplay and the vigor for the penetration, but From Nothing has difficulty keeping it up across its forty-five minute runtime with too-long portions of pretty monotony2 and excessive indulgence,3 but armed with a vocalist both sexy and devastating and an instrumental presence as bonkers as it is patient… goddammit, I need a cold shower now.4
Rating: 2.5/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: Inside Out Music
Websites: benthosmusic.bandcamp.com | benthos-band.com | facebook.com/benthosbandofficial
Releases Worldwide: April 11th, 2025#25 #2025 #Apr25 #Benthos #Deftones #FromNothing #Haken #InsideOutMusic #ItalianMetal #Mathcore #ProgressiveMetal #ProgressiveRock #Review #Reviews #TheContortionist #TheDillingerEscapePlan #TheFallOfTroy #Wilderun
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Panthalassan – From the Shallows of the Mantle Review
By GardensTale
Angry Metal Guy is an institution, and not just a mental one. Artists often dip into our comment section to express a fondness for our site specifically, and the review requests that land in our contact form are even more devoted (or attempting to ingratiate themselves by pretending to be; politics plays a part too!). The case of Panthalassan is a step further, though. It’s a one-man band inspired by bands we have hawked relentlessly: Lör and Wilderun. After playing guitar for Viathyn and Ravenous, Jake Wright sought to carve his own path, striking out on his own with only the drums of session musician and Viathyn bandmate Dave Crnković to accompany him. Have the AMG classics steered him true?
Well, it’s clear that one has had more pull than the other, because From the Shallows of the Mantle will sound fairly familiar for anyone who’s heard Lör’s In Forgotten Sleep. Lithe, winding guitars dish out multi-layered riffs and whirling solos alike, largely at dazzling speeds. The compositions are progressive, and though they don’t eschew choruses altogether, the tracks are arranged in a free-flowing form, prioritizing a musical narrative thread over rigid structure. And it must be said, Wright is a crack at the axe. There are enough great solos dotted across the running time to supply 3 albums, and the rapid and evolving melodic riffs thrill without fail. Just check the triumphant ascending chords that kick off “Coral Throne” or the Fellowship-worthy “By Shank’s Mare.” Cheesy? Sure. But it is some of the catchiest riffing I’ve heard yet this year.
Which is why it’s such a shame that both vocals and lyrics weigh on the album like an anchor. It’s not a technical disaster. Wright does glance off pitch on occasion, but he doesn’t veer completely wild. But sometimes I wish he would, because as adventurous as the guitars are, so safe and consequently flat is the vocal performance, leaving little room for emotional involvement. Exacerbating this issue are the lyrics. The text itself is not awful when read on paper; the problem is the near-total lack of flow, which is ironic considering its oceanic themes. I’m of the opinion that a good flow is the most important and oft-overlooked element of lyrics in music. You can sing about utter nonsense and I’ll suck it up like a sponge if you get your cadance and prosody right. But Panthalassan sounds stilted and awkward across most of the album, with ‘The gasp that slips my lips’ the tongue-twisting nadir. The difference it makes when it does fall into place, in the closer’s chorus, is downright startling. It makes me wonder how much better From the Shallows of the Mantle could have been with this issue resolved.
The quality of the instrumentation might have been enough to overcome the above issue, and it almost does. Besides the sweet guitars, Crnković does a solid job keeping up the pace on the drums, and the tracks weave enough variation and supplementary instruments into the compositions to stay reasonably fresh. Even so, more than an hour is a long sit, and most of the tracks that push past 7 minutes should not. “Worth My Salt” overuses the title phrase, and the extended outro on the back of the otherwise excellent “Embers on our Shore” drags it out even further. On the bright side, I do enjoy the production, which is light but doesn’t lack in power. The guitars are crystalline and the bass gets enough space; the only unfortunate consequence of the mix is the attention the vocals get, putting more emphasis on the shortcomings there.
Still, From the Shallows of the Mantle is a very promising debut for Panthalassan. Most of the issues with the album are surface-level, not fundamental. A re-examination of how to write vocal parts that flow well is in order, and that might in turn help entice a more passionate performance. I’m also curious to hear how Wright would fare trying to move away from the trappings of Lör’s fairly specific sound, something I’m convinced he has the chops to. That, as well as keeping the album more concise, would be more than enough to make the next installment of this oceanic saga a smash hit, because the bones are all there: solid songcraft, virtuoso play on every instrument, and a knack for a good hook.
Rating: 2.5/5.0
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: PCM
Label: Self-released
Websites: panthalassan.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/panthalassan
Releases Worldwide: March 28th, 2025#25 #2025 #CanadianMetal #Fellowship #FromTheShallowsOfTheMantle #Lör #Mar25 #Panthalassan #PowerMetal #ProgressiveMetal #Ravenous #Review #Reviews #SelfReleased #Viathyn #Wilderun
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If I'd really have to stick a label on this album, it would be good for #ThursDeath because of the growls alone, but this is much more than that. Also, a single entry for @alicemcalicepants's #SupergroupsAndSideProjects as it features guests from #CaligulasHorse, #ThankYouScientist, and #Wilderun.
A wonderfully chaotic, sometimes cacophonic piece.#Lunar: Tempora Mutantur
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Photos/Review: Insomnium, Omnium Gatherum, & Wilderun crush Baltimore Soundstage:
#Insomnium #OmniumGatherum #Wilderun #Tour #Review #Photos #BaltimoreSoundstage #CenturyMediaRecords
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This week in @DXMacGuffin's #ProgTuesday, a two men (and an epic beard!) band:
Iapetus: For Creatures Such as We
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Insomnium & Omnium Gatherum announce 2024 North American Tour w/ Wilderun:
#Insomnium #OmniumGatherum #NorthAmericaTour #Spring2024 #Wilderun #InsomniumGatherum #MetalInsider #TourAnnouncement #TourDates # #MetalConcerts #WilderunBand
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Had been waiting for 3 years to hear this live. Glad to have seen this performed live yesterday.
#ProgPowerEurope#Wilderun
Far from Where Dreams Unfurl -
Had been waiting for 3 years to hear this live. Glad to have seen this performed live yesterday.
#ProgPowerEurope#Wilderun
Far from Where Dreams Unfurl -
Die Scardust kauf' ich mir einfach, was soll schon passieren.
Bandcamp empfiehlt mir auch Veil of Imagination von #Wilderun, aber wenn ich da raufklicke bekomme ich dies zu sehen:
This album is no longer available for purchase on Bandcamp.
For digital copies, please visit Amazon or Apple Music.
Tja. Schade. Dann halt nicht.
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#NowPlaying #TheMetalDogIsNowPlaying
#Wilderun
Olden Tales and Deathly Trails
The Cracking Glow
https://youtube.com/results?search_query=Wilderun+Olden+Tales+&+Deathly+Trails+The+Cracking+Glow
https://genius.com/Wilderun-the-cracking-glow-lyrics -
This song by #Wilderun invokes major #Falconer vibes, just better. The whole album is amazing btw. and much more varied than the song lets on. #Metal https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLtA7EDkl94
