DEAD EGG

"Dead Egg" is the debut full-length studio album by polish progressive/ experimental metal act Egoist. Egoist is a one-man project by Stanislaw Wolonciej who plays all instruments and sings all vocals on the album. Stanislaw Wolonciej also plays drums in NewBreed and Angerpath. Both bands also feature his brother Tomasz Wolonciej. "Dead Egg" is produced by Stanislaw Wolonciej himself.

"Dead Egg" was to have been released in 2007, but because Magik Art Entertainment broke their contract with Stanislaw Wolonciej, the album has never seen an official release. I therefore contacted Stanislaw to get his permission to download and review "Dead Egg" and here´s what he said. I have copied/ pasted his answer here so this is a direct quote: "hi there, and thanks for being interested:). You know, the guy from Magik Art Ent. who seemed to release this stuff, just broke the contract, so any kind of downloading from the web is not illegal;). So, if you want to review dead egg, just download this stuff;). And it's OK from me. thanks and all the best, stan". So I would like to take the opportunity to thank Stanislaw for giving me the opportunity to review his album.

The music on the album is pretty innovative progressive/ experimental metal. There´s something about Stanislaw´s one-man army approach that reminds me of Devin Townsend but there´s more to Egoist than that. So don´t expect a Devin Townsend clone. I also hear a slight Meshuggah influence in the complex heavy riffing which is also a big part of the sound on the album. Stanislaw masters all instruments on an impressive level. I was actually quite surprised that he is first and foremost a drummer because his guitar playing is very impressive (his drumming is impeccable too of course). Lots of original runs and excellent ideas in his playing. Just listen to the beginning of "With Eyes Full of Colors". What a great twisted theme. The music is complex and intriguing throughout the album culminating in the impressive 13:46 minutes long instrumental closer "Flora". Lots of guitar solos grace the album and really strong solos they are. The vocals are one of the weaker links in the chain and while I find them acceptable I don´t find them really good. A bit too monotone to my ears. The songs are well composed but sometimes there are parts that don´t seem connected to the rest of the song that they appear in and that is a slight weakness too. Overall this is a very interesting album though and quite the achivement for one man.

The production is pretty good allthough there are weaknesses like the vocal sound which is not always to my taste. When they are effect laden they are best IMO. But Stanislaw´s vocals sound a bit restrained and weak when they don´t rely on vocal effects. It´s not a major problem when the instrumental side of the album is so strong but it is a minor weakness.

"Dead Egg" is a strong album by Egoist and it´s a real shame that it hasn´t seen an official release yet because I´m sure that many people would enjoy the material on the album. There are still some things that need to be improved but a 3 - 3.5 star rating is deserved. A very fresh and inspired album IMO.

I'm actually no longer sure where I got this album from, but I've had it for awhile now without reviewing it, and as far as I know, it has yet to see an official release, which is too bad, because there are some really impressive musical moments on Dead Egg. It's labelled as Extreme Prog Metal, and certainly I can hear some Meshuggah influence in them, but I also hear plenty of Isis and Tool creeping in there. The vocals in particular remind me of those bands the most. Very beautiful and melodic for the most part. A previous review said that the singing sounded 'monotone'. I don't agree with that. The melodies aren't all over the place a la Jon Anderson, however the style fits the music, I think.

My favorite tracks include ''Flower'' (the most Meshuggah-like of all the tracks, in my opinion), ''With Eyes Full of Colors'' (which has some really amazing technical rhythmic stylings), and ''Visions in Slumber'' (featuring a jazzy-style opening before going completely into outer space with the wailing guitars!). Some tracks are pulled off better than others, I think, but considering this is a debut release, it really shows the talent involved, here (and oh yeah . . . it's all being played by one guy).

Perhaps some of the most magical moments on the album are when the heavy stuff dies down, and clean, dreamy musical passages take over. There is a moment in particular near the middle of ''With Eyes Full of Colors'' that sounds very much like something Dave GIlmour would play. Immediately following it, however, is more groovy, heavy rhythms. I like that sudden switch-up of styles in this type of music, and in some ways I'm more in favor of the radical shifting in Metal music than I would be in other genres. That may be a little inconsistent, but when the differences are extreme enough, it just seems to 'fit' more. Where as on an album like Gryphon's ''Red Queen to Gryphon Three'', the sudden musical changes just feels disjointed.

There are moments on the album that feel like they were just thrown in for good measure, and merely to show how 'technical' this music is rather than to best serve the music itself. Large portions of the track ''Please Stay Blind'' struck me that way, although that song features a truly lovely guitar lead near its center. So it's a mixed bag, I suppose. Some moments are incredibly magical and surprising, where as other times the music just feels 'calculated' rather than inspired.

If you're a fan of diverse Extreme Metal such as Cynic, Meshuggah or Opeth. you'll probably find plenty to enjoy on Dead Egg (that is, if you manage to get ahold of it). It's not the best album of its kind, but I am looking forward to what the future may hold for Egoist. In fact, I plan on ordering the second album soon (which IS in fact available to to order).

It's a fun ride for the most part, and certainly shows plenty of promise.