| CD REVIEW Mistweaver |
 |
|
Band : Mistweaver Burgos (Basque County) based Spanish Progressive Death Metal quintet Mistweaver finally returns with a follow-upp to their 2005 album Age Of Darness (review by yours truly, posted on 28/08 of same year…and still available for your fact-finding needs of the era before)! With such a long time between albums, you would be correct in assuming that time was somewhat strewn with misadventures! For starters, drummer Guillermo Blanco, who’d been with the band for 7 years, left not long after the 2005 album’s release…for purely personal reasons (the guys remain friends to date)…but this obviously limited the band’s possibilities to promote the album with live performances. Things would turn for the worst when their label, Golden Lake Recordings, collapsed and went bankrupt. Meanwhile, new songs had already been brewing and growing to completion. While still looking for a full-time replacement on the drums, the band decided to hire session drummer Alfred Berengena for the recordings of a new album. After getting him acquainted with the material, the band entered Girona’s Tribal Art Studios in March 2007 to lay down the drum tracks. Normally, the rst of the albbum would be recorded during the first part of the following September, but a variety of reasons put delay upon delay. Meanwhile the band found a great new drummer in Simón Cordero (of Icarian, Pathfinder, and Ilur repute), and was finally active on the live front again. In May 2008 the band eventually moved their asses to Sweden’s Sonic Train Studios, where Andy Laroque not only recorded the rest of the music and vocals, but also mixed in the previously recorded drums and the album overall. He probably also provided the services of one Mija Anderson for the shared/ duet vocals on the track “Another Endless Night” (a fair assumption, seen the geneology of her name, right?), and…runnig ahead for once, the added female vocals give that song a Gothic touch. With the album done, the band started looking for an interested/ interesting label and, tireed of the wait, eventually self-financed a 500 copy first-edition pressing (with slip-case and different cover), which became available from the band only in early November 2009. As far as I understand, the band never got around making additional (“regular”) copies of the album, because then they signed a deal with Casket Music/ Copro Records for the distribution of their latest offering! The material on it is very much in the same vein as on the previous album, with nice Progressive guitars enhanced by great keyboard play adding to the Progressive feel! As far as the drums go…they are certainly thunderous at moments, but accordingly calmer when that is needed, and I sure hope the new drummer man will indeed be able to re-create Berengena’s style! To get acquainted with Mistweaver’s music, there’s of course myspace.com/mistweaverband, where you’ll find a total of 5 tracks to taste. Regretfully, the band prefered to post one song off each of its releases, and only one! Meaning you also only get the new album’s title track as a taster for the new album. Still, what’s posted gives a nice insight on the band nevertheless (when listening, remember that in the older material you had more influences from Doom and Black, occasionally). You might be able to check out the new drummer quite soon, as in coordination with the people at the label, the band will be undertaking a full-blown European tour this summer. I’m sure Germany and the UK will be serviced more completely, but that is after all normal. Let’s hope the Basks also come running through our little country! P.S. : Seen as this material was already finished only a year-and-a-half after the release of their previous album, and seen the time the band has since had to work on more new material, I’m really looking forward to what a future album may bring. I mean, this one already has 13 tracks for an enjoyable total playing time of 62 minutes! I sure hope it won’t take another 4 ½ years to be released, though! 95/100 Tony. |