┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │■ ■│ │ .-/ .-. │ │ _.-~ / ___ | ~-._ │ │ \:/ -~| / __/| .\:/ │ │ / || (:/:| \ │ │ / /\/| |:\___\| |\ \ │ │ / /:::|.::/:::/:.|:\ \ │ │ / /:::/ \\/:::/::/:::\ \ │ │ / .::\ \-~~~~-/\/:.. \ │ │ /..:::::\ /:::::..\ │ │ /::::::::- -::::::::\ │ │ \:::::-~ ~-:::::/ │ │ \:-~ ~-:/ │ │ METAL CLASSICS ARCHIVE │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ P R E S E N T S │ │ │ │ │ │ + Witherfall - A Prelude To Sorrow-(SICP-6008) + │ │ │ │ │ │╔═════════════════════╗ │ │║ Release Information ║ │ │╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Release Date.Feb-26-2019 Encoder......L3.98.4 -V0 --lowpas ║ │ │║ Genre........Metal Graber.......EAC ║ │ │║ Year.........2019 Khz/Bitrate..44,1/ Br ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Ripper.......anthem Songs........12 ║ │ │║ Covers.......Yes Url... www.witherfall.com ║ │ │║ ║ │ │╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │╔═════════════════════╗ │ │║ Release Notes ║ │ │╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Artist : Witherfall Rating : You Decide! ║ │ │║ Album : A Prelude To Sorrow-(SICP-6008)abel : Sony Music Jap ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ ║ │ │╠════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Description : ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ IÆll just assume everyone knows Witherfall by ║ │ │║ now, because if you didnÆt listen to last yearÆs ║ │ │║ album of the year, their debut Nocturnes and ║ │ │║ Requiems (2017), you done fucked up. That first ║ │ │║ album described something like a nightmare that ║ │ │║ turned darker, to show its true abyssal self, ║ │ │║ but A Prelude to Sorrow is a work of mourning. ║ │ │║ The death of former drummer Adam Sagan (ex- Into ║ │ │║ Eternity) is felt all throughout the production, ║ │ │║ and like the aftermath of loss, A Prelude to ║ │ │║ Sorrow takes many shapes. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ After the titular intro, 'We Are Nothing' starts ║ │ │║ off heavy, aggressive, angry. It leads the album ║ │ │║ off into a more progressively built venture led ║ │ │║ in spades by Jake DreyerÆs (Iced Earth, ex- ║ │ │║ White Wizzard) furious lead guitars and the ║ │ │║ eerie, dark presence of vocalist Joseph Michael ║ │ │║ (Sanctuary, ex- White Wizzard). The structures ║ │ │║ are worked to perfection, with massive buildups ║ │ │║ that just as soon twist into something darker as ║ │ │║ turn into softer passages set to DreyerÆs ║ │ │║ acoustic guitars. And where the debut dealt in ║ │ │║ plenty of power metal, and there still are ║ │ │║ traces of it, the sound on here is decidedly ║ │ │║ closer to Nevermore style of dark progressive ║ │ │║ metal.s ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ SaganÆs replacement Steve Bolognese (Death ║ │ │║ Dealer, ex- Into Eternity) handles the ║ │ │║ responsibility of it well. The embodiment of the ║ │ │║ rhythm section on the album is much a ║ │ │║ continuation of what was started on the first ║ │ │║ album, with a distinctly similar sound and while ║ │ │║ also feeling new and improved and unique to ║ │ │║ BologneseÆs style. Anthony Crawford delivers ║ │ │║ moody bass lines to go well alongside the dark ║ │ │║ tone, and led in riffs and the dark melodic play ║ │ │║ by DreyerÆs guitar which takes several steps up ║ │ │║ from the debut. ThereÆs less guitar noodling, ║ │ │║ and a bigger sense of purpose to DreyerÆs ║ │ │║ antics, a sense of direction. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ ItÆs a more controlled effort and the whole ║ │ │║ benefits greatly from it. The musicianship ║ │ │║ blends melancholy amazingly with the frenetic ║ │ │║ guitar play, blazing solos undeniably powerful ║ │ │║ choruses and catchy vocal melodies. Michael ║ │ │║ gives color and life to the process, delivered ║ │ │║ in powerful layers and delving into his darker ║ │ │║ territories while also bringing back some of the ║ │ │║ almost King Diamond like highs from the first ║ │ │║ album, particularly in heavier than fuck mid ║ │ │║ album track 'Shadows'. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ When you really start to give the album the time ║ │ │║ it deserves, you begin to really feel the weight ║ │ │║ of emotion put into this work of art. Be it the ║ │ │║ relentless, moody weight of single 'Ode to ║ │ │║ Despair' or the eerie acoustic flow of ║ │ │║ 'MaridianÆs Visitation' - set with some of ║ │ │║ MichaelÆs fine keyboard work that often take the ║ │ │║ atmosphere setting route - or even the madly ║ │ │║ twisting heaviness of 'We Are Nothing', the ║ │ │║ album continues to evolve with each listen. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Perhaps the crowning moment is the second eleven ║ │ │║ minute song, on the far end of the album; ║ │ │║ 'Vintage'. Here the musicianship take yet ║ │ │║ another twist; starting off as a ballad with a ║ │ │║ furiously melancholy chorus, turning into a slow ║ │ │║ cooking behemoth of DreyerÆs likely best melodic ║ │ │║ play on the album. The looming presence of the ║ │ │║ bass and rhythm section adds the final ║ │ │║ dimension, to complete the album and bring to ║ │ │║ the process a sense of finality; release. YouÆll ║ │ │║ especially notice the hair rising moment around ║ │ │║ the five minute mark, where MichaelÆs vulnerable ║ │ │║ yet liberating falsetto gives way to a slow ║ │ │║ melodic guitar lead, and the masterful last few ║ │ │║ minutes. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ I could probably go on, but the music and ║ │ │║ emotional weight of Witherfall is best ║ │ │║ experienced and not read of. This album is ║ │ │║ masterfully written and performed, with ║ │ │║ especially Dreyer and Michael both proving to be ║ │ │║ world class musicians, without showing off. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ While A Prelude to Sorrow didnÆt hit me quite as ║ │ │║ hard at first glance as the debut did, there is ║ │ │║ no doubt that the immersive layers and the ║ │ │║ depths unreached will prove, with time, to ║ │ │║ surpass that first album. In less than two ║ │ │║ months time this near flawless masterpiece will ║ │ │║ be crowned æalbum of the yearÆ (yes, IÆm calling ║ │ │║ it already). ║ │ │║ And it carries a name; Adam Paul Sagan. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Standout tracks: We Are Nothing, Communion Of ║ │ │║ The Wicked, Shadows, Vintage ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Review written by Silicon Messiah for ║ │ │║ www.metal-archives.com ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Joseph Michael - Vocals, Keyboards ║ │ │║ Jake Dreyer - Guitars ║ │ │║ Steve Bolognese - Drums ║ │ │║ Fili Bibiano - Guitars ║ │ │║ Anthony Crawford - Bass ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ ║ │ │╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │╔═════════════════════╗ │ │║ Release Tracklist ║ │ │╚═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════ │ │ │ │ 01 - A Prelude To Sorrow [01:27] │ │ 02 - We Are Nothing [11:13] │ │ 03 - Moment Of Silence [06:55] │ │ 04 - Communion Of The Wicked [06:40] │ │ 05 - Maridian┤s Visitation [03:15] │ │ 06 - Shadows [07:08] │ │ 07 - Ode To Despair [03:49] │ │ 08 - The Call [02:11] │ │ 09 - Vintage [11:06] │ │ 10 - Epilogue [02:47] │ │ 11 - A Tale That Wasn┤t Right (Bonus Track) [05:21] │ │ 12 - I Won┤t Back Down (Bonus Track) [04:12] │ │ │ │ Total Length : [66:04 minn │ │ │ │ │ │ ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ ╔═════════════════════╗ │ │ ║ Greetings To: ║ │ │ ╚═════════════════════╝ │ │ │ │ Too all people who contributes to make this │ │ archive of good music in a exceptional conditions │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │■ ■│ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘