Progarchives, the progressive rock ultimate discography
Frequency Drift - Laid to Rest CD (album) cover

LAID TO REST

Frequency Drift

Crossover Prog


From Progarchives.com, the ultimate progressive rock music website

Bookmark and Share
5 stars This album is a real grower. At first I was a bit disappointed because there is less guitar than on the previous album Ghosts. The increased use of the violin, however, makes up for this. Most of the songs are quite long and definitely on the atmospheric side. Antje's vocal sound very beautiful, but a bit restrained. It is an album you have to listen to very carefully otherwise you might miss many of the finer nuances of the songs. To me Dead and Copper are the standout tracks on the album. They have beautiful melodies and perfectly crafted arrangements. To me the strongest aspect of the album is that they really sound unique. If anyone knows another band that sounds like Frequency Drift, please let me now!
Report this review (#781665)
Posted Wednesday, July 4, 2012 | Review Permalink
tszirmay
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR
Honorary Collaborator
5 stars Frequency Drift's previous work "Ghosts" was justifiably anointed by a fair share of praise by many prog pundits for its haunting progressive stylings. I was among those who were startled by its shimmering aura, mostly due to Antje Auer's splendidly evocative vocals and some brittle arrangements that were unafraid to express themselves, on electric guitars particularly but also the keyboards of leader Andreas Hack, as well as some thumping rhythms to keep things rolling along. This German band has a very un-German tendency of altering its line-up and on this sublime release, longtime bassist Jürgen Rennecke with the above named stalwarts have retooled the guitar slot (Christian Hack stays on as guest and Seb Koch is gone) with new guy Alex Galimbis, while the drums are now manned by Jasper Jöris. The fantastic violinist is back (which is a very very good thing) as well as the harpist, adding some delightful detail to the overall script.

To say that Laid to Rest is an upgrade is entirely within the realm of the sound emanating from the loudspeakers, a deeper sense of symphonics and wider use of dynamics are now front row center. They are masters of the 15 minute track, as witnessed by the impeccable "Cold" and its poignant follow-up "Wish", the master spine of this brilliant recording. The 9 minute "Ice" and the 12 minute "Copper" finish off in grand style, making this a must-have for fans of cinematographic prog, with lush doses of folk, symphonic and eclectic prog. They propose a curiously successful mixture of traditional folk effects, dabs of electronica (they are German after all) and bluesy rock colorations (especially on lead guitar), stretching the extremes between icy and sizzling. Antje Auer has a crystalline voice of haunting beauty, clearly influenced by legends Kate Bush and Marta Sebestyén , loaded with inflected passion and genuine power.

The über-Saharan feel of "Dead" is evident from the Frank Schmitz' tortuous violin entrance , welded to the breathless voice, furthered along by the dreamy keys and killed off by a bluesy electric guitar solo that seeks only to retain the track's intent towards a sense of purity. This sounds highly Arabic when the lush clarinet puts its own two cents worth but resolutely modern when the synths and the clanging harp kick in. Bloody marvelous, I say! "Parted" has a more medieval feel, soon bolstered by a funky bass stick and chaka-chaka riffs, sultrier violin and elegant piano as well as some profound singing. To prove how good the rest of the album is, this is its weakest track and yet most enjoyable!

"Cold" is a stunner! A tremendous slice of musical genius that has all the tools to become a prog classic, voice and piano to begin and then plunges into the sublime, a dense, deeply atmospheric, trippy voyage in the most original sense. Antje's plaintive execution is child- like and sorrowful , the lyrics are movingly unpleasant "Cold is the finger of the dead" she intones, as the beat becomes intense , bass shuffles menacingly and the pounding rhythms escort the whistling synth solo. This is prog nirvana! A song from the crypt, ghoulish and satanic, as witnessed by the wily violin, ripping magically like some former flute (The Magic Flute?), the result devastating and masterful. At its center, the mood swerves into a tough edge, utterly melancholic and hypnotic with Antje returning to the microphone, wailing convincingly her cemetery epitaph. This is a glorious symphonic bath that one needs to luxuriate in, excited by the bubbling thrill of it all. Yeah, "cold is the finger of the dead". Relentlessly expressed. Wow!

The Floydian "Wish" is even spookier, cracked and hushed voice among the numerous effects, as the rolling bass moves this theme gently forward , devilishly restrained and then, BAM!, the lead guitar carves out a simple melody that soars and scours the skies, laden with profound feeling and angst (a deadly prog duo when done right). This gets heavier when Antje goes furiously ahead, ebb and flow with "creep into my narrow bed", the choir- like synths and the general bombast are to expunge over! The clarinet then makes a welcome and lengthy apparition, rivulets of romantic wind and forlorn piano. And of course, a blitzy guitar solo to send this one into the horizon. Deadly stuff! As if that wasn't enough jubilation, panting voice and Celtic harp do a little number and the gloomy beauty now becomes pervasive, blasting another axe solo searching in the presence of some thoughtful aura. Back and forth between serene and neurotic, the segments bounce around like a Boris Becker serve, keeping the listener in awed anticipation of what may come next. Unpredictable, creative, bold and structured all at the same time, this is a prog mind at work here, sounding like nothing else I have ever heard. It may be too sedate for the metalloids out there but the sheer quality of the arrangements and the restrained brilliance of the players are beyond the norm.

"Ice" is daringly bluesier, strings in tense symphonic explosion and a more conventional vocal performance that relies only on its own merits, weaving a prickly melody that transcends the border between Medieval and Gothic , a colossal tidal wave of strings spin a web of delight (that's imagery for you!) and finally overcomes any distant listener to its knees! I could listen to this all day. Swells of synthesized emotion careening over the edge. The finale is heavy, big fat bass growling in Wagnerian stringed fury, kick ass all the way. When the lead melody returns, it's just breathtaking! You have to hear this to believe it.

"Copper" has a traditional northern European feel , Antje howling in the wind, passionately involved and a musical backdrop that keeps the structure in tight unison and free creativity. A lovely heart-felt ballad that suddenly veers into a totally alternate realm, a second section that dares to experiment sonically, synths groaning audaciously. Then, a whopping Gilmourian solo screeches through the clouds and BAM! The whole song just bloomed into another level of depth, cinematographic big time. Some Celtic harp within a baroque setting veers the song into more Southern European climes, a feat that is clearly not something the musical Germans do well historically, proving that the country has really become a more open society , hungry to expand their intellect and their artistic expression. The hard-edged violin solo is another step in their magical staircase. . The finale infuses those folk tendencies that litter this release, a slight Eastern European/Gypsy/ Middle Eastern feel, abetted by slithering violins and a slew of quarter tone meanderings. The hard-edged violin solo is another step in their magical staircase. .

A tour de force that will consecrate this fine band once and for all as a prog leader. All potential doubts will be 'laid to rest' for good! Fans of Iona (though their last one was terribly disappointing), Karnataka, Mostly Autumn and folk/symph prog will LOVE this!

5 event floats

Report this review (#797309)
Posted Tuesday, July 31, 2012 | Review Permalink
Warthur
PROG REVIEWER
3 stars Deftly blending Arabic folk music and passages reminiscent of anime soundtracks (it's not for nothing that the the band's first two concept albums were influenced by Ghost In the Shell), Frequency Drift's Laid to Rest finds the band offering up an intriguing mixture of influences, demonstrating that at their best they are far from your typical progressive rock band, though there's enough Pink Floyd pastiche on here to make me feel it falls a bit short of the previous album. Where they are at their best is when they adopt unexpected influences from outside the usual range you expect prog groups to draw their ideas from, expanding the vocabulary of progressive rock in the process. You could, I suppose, that any band which is truly "progressive" absolutely needs to do such a thing; if that's the case, then Frequency Drift qualify as one of the true prog bands of the present era easily, though their experiments are not always successful.
Report this review (#861844)
Posted Sunday, November 18, 2012 | Review Permalink
BrufordFreak
COLLABORATOR
Honorary Collaborator
3 stars I am very happy for the success of Frequency Drift as I have loved following the recent arrival and evolution of the band, from cinematic/soundtrack music to 2011's masterpiece, Ghosts.... They are an immensely talented, wonderfully creative band. But, try as hard as I have, (I've owned Laid to Rest for several months now), this 2012 release does not please me, does not draw me in or amaze me half as well as Ghosts... did/does. A lot of the dynamic shifts have been watered down, the band seems to have moved more toward a softer, more drawn out, slow development approach to composition and performance. I find myself waiting for the peaks, waiting for the dramatic shifts, even waiting for the magical weaves of multiple instruments that I so loved on Ghosts.... But they are not there. Over and over, weeks apart I've returned to this album saying to myself that I must be missing something, that I must be in the wrong mood or that I'm just not giving it my fullest attention. The posting of this review is my admission that I am finished trying. Laid to Rest is being laid to rest. I'm so sorry.
Report this review (#881564)
Posted Monday, December 24, 2012 | Review Permalink
Roland113
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR
Honorary Collaborator
5 stars This album has shot up my personal chart for 2012 and will most likely end up in the top three. Ok, how to describe Frequency Drift. Melodic drawn out songs in the vein of Gazpacho but with a haunting female vocalist, a world music flair and a lot of violin.

I love a good hook, and a lot of times a good hook will push me to buy an album. That was the case with Frequency Drift, I was listening to the album on Spotify and 'Parted' hooked me. Once the song became ingrained in my head, I had to have the album. One sales meeting give away of an iTunes gift card and I had three new albums to listen to on the flight home. Laid to Rest was the best of the three (don't get me wrong, the other two were great as well).

I'm not going to do a song by song break down here, instead, I'll focus on the overall feel. As I mentioned earlier, Frequency Drift uses a longer, more drawn out song format similar to Gazpacho and Hogarth era Marillion. They differentiate themselves from their peers by the addition of Antje Auer on vocals providing them with a distinctively haunting female lead. I love her voice, though at times her phrasing needs a little work. In fairness that could be as much from singing in English instead of her native German. There are sections, especially in 'Parted' that are a little awkward. The good news is that this is the exception rather than the norm.

The second thing that makes these guys special is the instrumentation, the harp and violin are featured prominently throughout giving it an exotic feel. The violin of Frank Schmitz is exemplified by the Arabic accents throughout 'Dead' and again in the blistering solo in the latter half of 'Parted' . . . and how often do you get to hear harp these days. Adding to the exotic feel, Nerissa Schwarz adds another dimension to tracks such as 'Parted', 'Wish' and 'Copper'.

The third great thing about this album is the Middle Eastern feel throughout. I personally love the Arabic chords and tones scattered throughout the album. I think every song has some element of Arabic music ingrained in it. It's not used to excess, rather just the right amount and just the right times.

I started this out with the intent of giving the album four stars, but I've convinced myself that it deserves a full five stars. If you like the exotic aspects that I mentioned above don't miss this release.

Report this review (#900175)
Posted Saturday, January 26, 2013 | Review Permalink
5 stars Rich and minimalist.

With "Laid To rest" Frequecy Drift has succeeded in the original bet of marrying two opposing qualities, richness and minimalism. Richness of instrumentation: in addition to a traditional rock formation (guitar / bass / keyboards / drums), we have the pleasure of hearing harp, flute, violin, clarinet, medieval instruments but also - something rarer in rock - the triangle. Richness of influences with contributions of folk and ethnic music. Finally, the incredible richness of Antje Auer's stamp. What a sublime voice! Minimalism: The instruments evolve regularly in duet or solo. The compositions dilute and disintegrate regularly to the point of becoming evanescent, stretching time to the limit of rupture (70 minutes of music for 6 pieces). Minimalism also in the track "Cold", with the haunting repetition of the phrase "cold as the fingers of the day". Finally, the cover is sober: no lyrics and the song titles are reduced to a single word Dead, Cold, Wish, Ice ... short and sharp like "copper".

A centerpiece of unconventional modern prog in which we do not discover any trace of the 70s, to discover absolutely! A well deserved 5 star. Too bad Antje Auer has since left the group...

Report this review (#2442240)
Posted Saturday, August 29, 2020 | Review Permalink

FREQUENCY DRIFT Laid to Rest ratings only


chronological order | showing rating only

Post a review of FREQUENCY DRIFT Laid to Rest


You must be a forum member to post a review, please register here if you are not.

MEMBERS LOGIN ZONE

As a registered member (register here if not), you can post rating/reviews (& edit later), comments reviews and submit new albums.

You are not logged, please complete authentication before continuing (use forum credentials).

Forum user
Forum password

Copyright Prog Archives, All rights reserved. | Legal Notice | Privacy Policy | Advertise | RSS + syndications

Other sites in the MAC network: JazzMusicArchives.com — jazz music reviews and archives | MetalMusicArchives.com — metal music reviews and archives

Donate monthly and keep PA fast-loading and ad-free forever.