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Kalaratri
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Joined: Wed Aug 05, 2020 3:22 pm
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PostPosted: Fri Oct 15, 2021 9:18 am 
 

American symphonic/progressive folk metallers Wilderun will release their fourth full length, Epigone, on January 7, 2022 through Century Media Records. From the press release:

Quote:
With “Epigone”, Boston-bred aural imaginauts WILDERUN take a deeper and darker step beyond their expansive, prog-leaning metal scores that so skillfully came together on 2019’s “Veil of Imagination.” The result is a record that is at once grandiose, complex, sophisticated and unexpectedly human. “This is certainly a “meta” record for me,” states guitarist and vocalist Evan Berry. “It’s the record that has the most to do with the artistic process.” Indeed, the nine-track-long offering: beginning with the haunting acoustic prelude, “Exhaler” and ending with a twenty-minute, four-part epic composition, “Distraction I-IV”, “Epigone” is nothing short of a journey into expression and ambition. It has all the earmarks that have made WILDERUN a revelation unto themselves.

“This record has a different kind of inner turmoil than Veil,” says bassist and composer Dan Muller. “So much of that album was focused on the past and reminiscing on the progression from childhood to adulthood, and had a brighter, more flowery texture to it. This one is darker, and to me feels more introspective.” Admittedly, the universal pause and the frustration that came with the onset of a global pandemic of 2020 weighed heavily on the writing. “It was a frustrating time,” says Dan. “Things were starting to move in a direction that we had wanted them to for a while. We had signed to Century Media and were playing bigger shows like the 70,000 Tons of Metal cruise. Then, suddenly, it felt like everything was ripped away from us. For me, that made it the hardest record we’ve ever had to write.”

Berry describes the arrangement process for “Epigone” as “solitary”, largely due to the Covid-restricted universe the band found itself in. Ideas were shuttled back and forth between members, and the band frustratingly never had the opportunity to meet as a whole before tracking commenced in early 2021. And with traveling being too risky at the time, Wayne had to do all of his recording and orchestrating out of his home studio in California, while the rest of the band tracked in Syracuse, NY. In spite of that isolation, tracks like the driving “Passenger” speak volumes of WILDERUN’s increasingly canny sonic reach as soaring, cinematic orchestrations flirt with Berry’s death metalized inclinations. According to Berry, even WILDERUN’s flawlessly integrated orchestrations were pushed in new directions. Guitarist and composer Wayne Ingram (who has worked for noted film composer Hans Zimmer’s Bleeding Fingers Company) focused on innovative and challenging compositions while Muller pushed his synth work to create a sense of atmosphere the band’s prior work only hinted at. The album’s mix by Jens Bogren (Opeth, Arch Enemy) sets the album’s standard to masterpiece proportions.

“There’s always a deep appreciation for the vibe and the atmosphere of folk and the heaviness of metal,” says Dan, “I think for us it comes down to this organic, esoteric atmosphere that incorporates a lot of different things.” That aesthetic is most pronounced when it comes to some of the album’s actual instrumentation. “This is probably the biggest number of folk instruments we’ve ever had on a record,” notes Dan. “Sometimes it’s prominent. Sometimes it’s layered. There’s fewer keys and more acoustic passages. It’s a little more earthy and a little less theater.”

When it comes to scoring soundtracks for the theater of the mind, WILDERUN isn’t merely pushing boundaries, they’re writing sublime symphonies and setting the standard in the process. “At its core, WILDERUN is escapist, transformative,” says Dan. “Our criteria is very simple: As a listener, does it put me in a place that’s better than where I am now? Even though the music and lyrics are very introspective, this could be anyone’s story.”


Image

Tracklisting:
1. Exhaler
2. Woolgatherer
3. Passenger
4. Identifier
5. Ambition
6. Distraction I
7. Distraction II
8. Distraction III
9. Distraction Nulla

Passenger has been released as the first single:
Spoiler: show


Wilderun are one of the best new prog/folk metal bands to emerge over the last decade and they've been getting better with every album. Their last record Veil of Imagination was one of the best albums of 2019 and the single they released for the new album is up to the same standard.


Last edited by Kalaratri on Fri Oct 15, 2021 3:19 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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CoconutBackwards
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Joined: Thu Dec 01, 2016 2:02 pm
Posts: 1787
PostPosted: Fri Oct 15, 2021 9:31 am 
 

After that career defining last album and the lead guitarist quitting the band I'll say I'm skeptical about this album.
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Benedict Donald
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Joined: Tue Aug 24, 2021 10:36 am
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Location: United States
PostPosted: Fri Oct 15, 2021 10:17 am 
 

Their cover of Maiden's "7th Son" is well done and interesting. Not the waste of time that most 'metal bands covering metal bands' tends to be.

Anyway, digging the new single...will definitely pick this up.

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SquirrelHunt
Metal newbie

Joined: Mon Dec 23, 2019 5:08 am
Posts: 53
PostPosted: Fri Oct 15, 2021 11:33 am 
 

Fuck. Yes.

This band is one of the few symphonic metal bands I enjoy and eventually became one of my all-time favorites. Their greatest opus, Sleep at the Edge of the Earth, is still played here on a regular basis. Regarding the new song, maybe it's wishful thinking, but I hope they bring back the folk to a greater extent on the rest of the album.

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Kalaratri
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Joined: Wed Aug 05, 2020 3:22 pm
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PostPosted: Fri Nov 12, 2021 12:05 pm 
 

The second single is out:


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hallowed78
Metalhead

Joined: Thu Apr 27, 2006 4:53 am
Posts: 615
Location: LV-426
PostPosted: Fri Jan 07, 2022 8:22 am 
 

New album is out.

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Demon Fang
Metalhead

Joined: Tue Mar 12, 2019 9:42 am
Posts: 538
PostPosted: Fri Jan 07, 2022 8:46 am 
 

The Distraction suite is quite good, about on par with the majesty that was Veil of Imagination. The rest of the album is also good but imo if they had done just an EP with the Distraction suite, it would be even better.

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CoconutBackwards
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Joined: Thu Dec 01, 2016 2:02 pm
Posts: 1787
PostPosted: Fri Jan 07, 2022 10:21 am 
 

hallowed78 wrote:
New album is out.


Thank you for the heads up, I'm putting it on now!!!
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Kalaratri
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 07, 2022 10:34 am 
 

Demon Fang wrote:
The Distraction suite is quite good, about on par with the majesty that was Veil of Imagination. The rest of the album is also good but imo if they had done just an EP with the Distraction suite, it would be even better.


I think the album as a whole is better than Veil of Imagination. They toned down the bombast a bit and dialed up the introspective moments and I find there's more emotional heft to the whole work. There's also more folk elements than the previous album which is something I'm glad to see return in a greater capacity.

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Demon Fang
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Joined: Tue Mar 12, 2019 9:42 am
Posts: 538
PostPosted: Fri Jan 07, 2022 10:50 am 
 

Kalaratri wrote:
Demon Fang wrote:
The Distraction suite is quite good, about on par with the majesty that was Veil of Imagination. The rest of the album is also good but imo if they had done just an EP with the Distraction suite, it would be even better.


I think the album as a whole is better than Veil of Imagination. They toned down the bombast a bit and dialed up the introspective moments and I find there's more emotional heft to the whole work. There's also more folk elements than the previous album which is something I'm glad to see return in a greater capacity.

I think the bombast was the best part of Veil of Imagination to be fair. This may be the motivation I need to really get into their first two albums. Cheers man.

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Bogdaniel
Metal newbie

Joined: Fri Feb 22, 2013 6:04 pm
Posts: 349
Location: Poland
PostPosted: Fri Jan 07, 2022 11:29 am 
 

I've never heard of this band before and am currently near the end of my first listen of the album. Very cool moments throughout and I definitely like what I hear. It is a lot to digest through though, so it will take a few more listens to fully appreciate it, I'm sure.

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