Primary Emotions/Themes: Long expansive explorations of musical themes, the depths of despair, the heights of joy, peace
Thoughts: I feel like I should enjoy this album more than I do. All of the ingredients are there for a top ten entry. The songs are long and intricate, the atmosphere is great, and the music is well written. Somehow though Woe does not click with me.
An Abstract Illusion play progressive death metal in the vein of early Opeth or Wilderun. The songs are long and go through many progressions before coming to their ultimate conclusion. Like many of the albums in this field, the music feels more like a journey than individual songs. Everything is meticulously crafted and laid out towards a dramatic conclusion.
Right from the start though Woe does not sit right with me. The introduction is promising enough but the true opener Slaves feels a bit off. The the outright focus on heaviness and some chugging riffs did not work well with the sophistication of the leads and song structures.
As the album progressed things started falling into place, and by the time I got to the epic "In the Heavens Above, You Will Become a Monster" I started to get into the music. This track goes through peaks and valleys of all sorts of emotions. The incredible rage towards the end of the song, the deep longing and peace during the acoustic lull around half through. It all works.
The album ends on a similar high note, with a complex and emotionally satisfying track. Those two tracks consist of the entirety of the second disc... is that enough for me to enjoy the album as a whole? I don't know the answer to that question yet. I need to let this one sit for a bit and come back to it. At very least the album has a shaky start, an unremarkable middle and a strong ending.
Written September 7th 2021
No comments:
Post a Comment