Year : 2014
Style : Heavy Metal , Progressive Metal
Country : Sweden
Audio : 320 kbps + all scans
Size : 121 mb
Bio:
Superficially, Witherscape might seem like a brand-new name to the scene, but when looking and listening closer at its content that surely isn't the case. Legendary Swedish vocalist/multi-instrumentalist/producer Dan Swanö is perhaps best known for his work with Edge Of Sanity, Nightingale and Bloodbath. Active since the early '90s, his career runs much deeper than this revered trio, having produced seemingly countless bands from across the metal spectrum (Opeth, Dissection, Katatonia, Asphyx, to name just a few) as well as launching or taking part in side projects including Moontower, Odyssey and Pan.Thy.Monium. Following a lengthy silence, Swanö has returned with multi-instrumentalist Ragnar Widerberg at his side and a new conceptual project, Witherscape. No surprise that it's an outing of epic proportions done up in expected in-your-face Swanö tradition.According to Swanö, Witherscape has been in planning for a long time, spawned as a result of his working relationship with Widerberg, which began at a Swedish music store. In spite of being five years older than Widerberg, Swanö discovered they had so much in common musically that brainstorming for a full-on metal project of their own was the next logical step. Widerberg quotes acts like early Judas Priest, Rush, King Crimson or Mercyful Fate as far as his inspirations in regards to Witherscape and Swanö elaborates his list to also include Judas Priest (1975-1989), Voivod, Queensrÿche, Rush, Marillion and Mercyful Fate.Vocals, drums and keyboards were handled by Swanö for the album, with Widerberg looking after all guitars and bass-work, including the solos. It's a symbiotic musical relationship where the duo was able to feed off one another's strengths to create some of the strongest material in Swanö's extensive catalogue.Witherscape runs the gamut of metal soundscapes from death to prog to old school, loaded with riffs and solos, lush clean vocals and guttural growls, an even spread of aggression and atmospheric darkness, and on one occasion, handclaps. Die-hard Swanö fans will likely draw comparisons to Opeth, Ayreon, Moontower, the catcher moments in Edge Of Sanity's catalogue, and even Amorphis or Type O Negative while taking Witherscape's nine song journey (with the closing title track being an instrumental piece).The Inheritance comes enhanced with hauntingly beautiful artwork courtesy of Travis Smith, who has previously worked with artists such as Opeth, Nevermore, Riverside or Katatonia and based on its stylistic originality, its compositional depth as well as the intense atmosphere, it's an album that should easily appeal to all Swanö followers out there but also to a new generation of listeners interested in the current wave of progressive extreme metal.
Album:
The New Tomorrow contains five unreleased songs: A brand new (title) track, three cover songs (“Defenders Of Creation” by Warrior, “A World Without Heroes” by KISS and “Out In The Cold” by Judas Priest) and “Dead For Another Day” (an extension of the debut album’s “Dead For A Day” single).The new track “The New Tomorrow” is introducing the new main character, “mannen i vitt” (“The man in white”) and the storyline revolves around his quest for the meaning of life and how he wants to make a difference in the world of the forsaken. It is 1950 and he finds this wonderful estate up north and buys it at an auction. He begins the work to turn it into a sanctuary for ones with broken spirits or other disabilities, who need to escape the ever-growing stress of the big city life.The plot will continue on the 2nd full length WITHERSCAPE album, which will hopefully be out at the end of 2015. The cover versions were chosen because they are songs that resonate with us at their very core, but didn’t necessarily have – in our humble opinion – the production or performance to portray their full glory. We gave them the Witherscape treatment and learned a lot from analyzing, performing and recording them. And we will bring that experience with us into the writing for the 2nd album… The re-make of “Dead For A Day” called “Dead For Another Day” was born out of the idea to let WITHERSCAPE make a WITHERSCAPE cover and remove all things death and metal to see what it would sound like. We fell in love with the new approach and decided to include it on the EP to show the versatility that can be expected from this band!
Line Up:
Ragnar Widerberg Guitars, Bass (2013-present) - See also: ShadowQuest
Dan Swanö Vocals, Keyboards, Drums (2013-present) - See also: Frameshift, Nightingale, Odyssey, Star One, ex-Dan Swanö, ex-Demiurg, ex-Diabolical Masquerade, ex-Edge of Sanity, ex-Godsend, ex-Incision, ex-Infestdead, ex-Karaboudjan, ex-Masticate, ex-Pan.Thy.Monium, ex-Steel, ex-Stygg Död, ex-Total Terror, ex-Unicorn, ex-Darkcide, ex-Route Nine, Obliterhate, ex-Another Life, ex-Bloodbath, ex-Overflash, ex-Brejn Dedd, ex-Maceration, ex-Ribspreader, ex-Sörskogen
Tracklist:
1. The New Tomorrow 04:42
2. Defenders of Creation (Warrior cover) 04:27
3. A World Without Heroes (KISS cover) 02:36
4. Out in the Cold (Judas Priest cover) 06:35
5. Dead for Another Day 04:40
6. The New Tomorrow (Vinyl Mix) 04:42
7. Defenders of Creation (Warrior cover) (Vinyl Mix) 04:27
8. A World Without Heroes (KISS cover) (Vinyl Mix) 02:36
9. Out in the Cold (Judas Priest cover) (Vinyl Mix) 06:35
10. Dead for Another Day (Vinyl Mix) 04:40
Download links for all albums only on our blog here: http://goodmetalandhar.do.am/
