A((WAKE))

It's been a while since I've heard a Post Metal album that was done right, or at least one that did sound as such to my ears!

I had no previous knowledge of A((WAKE)) before approaching their 2011 band-titled debut album and the initial experience was a pleasant one but it would eventually take me quite some time to actually sink my teeth into this release. There are numerous reasons for this slow but steady acknowledgment of this album's true potential, among which is it's hefty length and ambitious content, but the effort does indeed pay off in the long run.

My initial mention of the Post Metal term might be considered to be slightly misleading since A((WAKE)) sometimes prefers to boarder their style on a mix between heavy (i.e. extreme) and atmospheric metal learnings but that's what I personally consider to be the true ideology of the Post Metal sub-genre! Anyone expecting merely a smooth/atmospheric music experience might as well seek out any of the numerous releases under the Post Rock sub-genre. This album is a bumpy ride, but the bumps are intentional and definitely enhance the overall experience by keeping the listener on the edge of the seat. This is put to an even greater effect by omitting breaks between the compositions, thus letting the individual tracks interweave with one another.

The most surprising thing about this debut album is the band's ability to deliver a solid Post Metal experience that boarders on the level that was experienced 15 years earlier on Tool's Ænima. That 1996 release pretty much created a firm assumption in the back of my mind that there was nothing more left to explore in this sub-genre. Experience is the key to realization of ones past mistakes and I've certainly learned another valuable lesson by listening to A((WAKE))!

***** star songs: Iron Mold (6:10) Storm Cloud (2:53) Program (3:08) Don't Shut Your Eyes (7:20)

**** star songs: Landslide (4:34) Machine Gods (9:53) Endless (3:07) Therapy (5:45) The Sea Is Burning (4:28) Towards My Soul (2:13) Years Go By (3:39) Castles Or Rust (14:28)

*** star songs: First Breath (1:02)

I must admit that I am, generally speaking, a fan of post rock and usually post metal as well.

With that out of the way this album met all of my highest expectations that I had for the band upon hearing their EP 'Northern Lights', they added a vocalist, which was my main concern but also tightened up their production and seemed to find a sound that worked well for them.

I usually don't enjoy the extreme side of metal vocals but here they don't seem to rub me in quite the same way that they usually do. The vocals fit the sound and everything is well executed making it so that they aren't relying on the vocalist himself.

The cream of the crop for me is the phenomenal song 'Don't Shut Your Eyes', a fantastic piece showing off the band's many talents and influences while still remaining true to their sound. The only issues I have with the album are a) the length... I feel at 68 minutes this album begins to grow old by the end. I feel it would be much more successful if they took about 15 minutes off. The second is the variety, the songs begin to blend together in some ways by the end which is truly unfortunate because they draw from so many styles and with more time I feel this album could have been a masterpiece.

Regardless it is still a fine album and a worthwhile addition for anybody, especially for post metal or extreme metal fans.