LEAVING YOUR BODY MAP

Toby Driver project's, maudlin of the Well is one of the most innovative progressive rock projects I've ever heard. "Leaving your body map" is an incredible accomplishment which you probably want to take into consideration if you want to be up to date with one of the greatest bands of progressive rock from the last years. Mixing and combining lots of influences and instruments in a very inspired mode and the result in this great album.

There is a very strange combination between the introspective, melancholic lyrics and the way the lyrics are sung in the first song. Stone of the October's sober is absolutely great with is beautiful and relaxing intro. The listener is slowly introduced in the atmosphere with a slow and tranquil flow. The lyrics are absolutely fantastic leaving an outlandish impression. I felt like returning back in the city after a weekend visit in the countryside in the autumn.

The second song (Gleam in Ranks) is heavy, has fast tempos and is much more dynamic then the first one. The lyrics are a little bit abstract. For me the impression is that it this song tries to communicate frustration and disappointment. I'm not even sure if this has something to do with someone's experience or is just someone's dream or imagination.

Not only flowers are bizarre. The third song is also bizarre. I'm beginning to think that this album was developed based on high degree of imagination and by searching those hidden and fuzzy gullies of consciousness. I like very much the metaphors like "wither'd day". A characteristic often encountered when describing the vegetal reign applied to the moment of the day end, of the dawn. The sound and the lyrics are translucent and crepuscular.

After this magnificent into we should have a short break to meditate after these three songs. There is time for interlude. Interlude 3 is in fact the name of the forth song. There is a little more than four minutes of beautiful, relaxing and gloomily song.

A curve that to an angle turn'd. I admit that the song name is very unusual. Aggressive but slow parts combine with melodic, dreamy moments and Maria-Stella Fountoulakis agreeable voice. Plenty of metaphors all over the place ("Dead, and I pierce her body with shards of me", "The knives in your eyes bled my joy lifeless"). The last strophe is whispered with a shivering voice leaving remains of sorrow.

Sleep is a curse is also very interesting and melancholic song. The atmosphere is placid and some traces of regret are glimpsing here and there. Indeed probably the sleep is a curse. This is probably true because we are condemned to switch slowly to this state every night. This is something you cannot avoid. Being hooked up in this body cage, being forced to fall over in this state every now and then and seeing this as a curse is for me a very different approach of contemplating this state.

Riseth He The Numberless (Part 1 + Part 2) is good moment of extreme metal combined with very strong lyrics. The song is epic from beginning to the end and the music reminds me of Tiamat - Wildhoney. The beginning of the first part sounds very much alike Los Jaivas - La poderosa muerte. Meditative and introspective intros on both songs mixed with dynamic and powerful parts resulting in probably my favorite part of this release.

Well again there is time for an interlude: Interlude 4. The second instrumental song of this album is similar to Interlude 3. But this time it is a little bit longer. It has the same slow and nice atmosphere with very beautiful guitar and cello arrangements.

Monstrously Low Tide, the last song has the same atmosphere as the other songs. Dense and powerful start up and stained with slow and inspired guitar and female voice interludes. The guitar ending part (in fact the second half of the song) is simply amazing and vaticinal. It is an easy passing to the end of a magnificent piece of music.

All in one this is a great album. Very good lyrics, very inspired compositions combining different kinds of influences from extreme metal to classical strewn with progressive elements utterly. Autophysiopsychic music concept of jazz musician Yusef Lateef had for sure a great deal of influence over the way maudlin of the Well decided to create music. This is definitely something more than worth checking out if you want some avant-garde piece of modern music. Highly recommended.