WILDERUN: Epigone (PROGRESSIVE METAL): review / opinion to read on Music Waves

In 2019, progressive death metal fans took a big slap, and they remember it. That year, Wilderun released their third self-produced album, "Veil Of Imagination". While the band still knew a modest success, the American combo had hit very hard, to the point of appearing at the top of the majority of the top albums of the year 2019 in many specialized magazines and in the ranking of the Internet users. This dazzling success did not escape the attention of the famous American metal label, Century Media Records, which signed the band in the wake. Since then, things seem to take a nice turn for the Americans as evidenced by this tour in support of Swallow The Sun in the USA in autumn 2021. It is in this context that "Epigone", the band's fourth album, is released in January 2022, and it is obviously difficult for the listener not to have a certain level of expectation after the craze around "Veil Of Imagination".

The album opens with a peaceful acoustic opening track that, while pleasant, doesn't generate any real excitement. 'Woolgatherer' and its 14 minutes follows. With such a length, it is impossible not to think of the immense 'The Unimaginable Zero Summer' from the previous album, sparkling with class and genius. But as on the introductory title, the piece starts very calmly. It takes almost 4 minutes before the blast beats, the guttural vocals and the opera-like voices so dear to Wilderun show up. Surprisingly, the track seems to be strangely constructed and shows some random changes of dynamics, even if some very good ideas are present. Then 'Passenger' starts, the first single of the album and certainly its strongest track, with powerful and sometimes dissonant guitar riffs, epic melodies and beautiful vocal lines, followed by the very good 'Identifier' and its subtle folk reminiscences.

Just when the album seems to be well and truly launched after a more mitigated beginning, the intensity seems to fall back a little after 'Ambition', an interlude of almost 3 minutes of pure emptiness. We finally arrive at the main track, 'Distraction', cut in 4 sub-parts and 4 different tracks. If 'Woolgatherer' seemed strangely constructed, 'Distraction' is even more so with many false starts that break the listening dynamics, as witness the beginning of the second movement that comes to cut the end of the first act, ultra-epic and grandiose, but suddenly interrupted. In fact, it seems that the four parts have been put together without any real global cohesion. It is especially the second act that stands out. The third, almost instrumental and almost irrelevant, confirms this unfortunate patchwork effect. It is all the more annoying that each section is nevertheless of good, even very good workmanship. The last track, 'Distraction Nulla', is only a noisy surge without any interest...

It is thus in half-tone that this album closes. Alternating the excellent and the less good, "Epigone" appears somewhat marred by some surprising, even unfortunate, choices of composition and structure. However, the album remains of good quality as a whole, but it was allowed to expect a little better from Wilderun whose qualities are not to be proved anymore. - Official website

WILDERUN

EPIGONE

CENTURY MEDIA RECORDS

PROGRESSIVE METAL