A WAVE TO CARRY US OUT

A Wave to Carry Us Out is a dark album. The production is raw and a bit amateur, but that emphasizes the obscure and menacing ambient that this band tries to create with their music. The riffs are a curious mixture between hard and distorted melodies much in the vein of Tool, especially in the polyrhythmic sections, and the harder moments of Pain of Salvation, with some glimpses of other acts like Mastodon especially in the odd and strange clean electric guitar melodies, like in the beginning of Still Silent.

Sadly, I think that the songwriting of the album is not compelling enough to resist a long time listening. There are a pair of good moments and some catchy melodies, but after the first two or three songs, the repetitive structures of the compositions turn wasted and boring. And that's a pity, because Tuomas Rajala's drumming is impressive and Juuso Jalava's bass is also very good.

No the same can be said about the singer, nevertheless. His singing lacks something, some magic or charisma to be convincing, being another weak point of this promising but ultimately flawed album.

Best Tracks: Still Silent (a Mastodon/Tool reminiscent song with impressive drums at the beginning), Nothing Floats (I especially like the guitar melodies in this one) and ...As If He's Ever Seen (typical Nauticus instrumental, dark and hypnotical)

Conclusion: with a better singer and a more focused songwriting, A Wave to Carry Us Out could have been a very good modern prog-alternative-metal album, in the vein of modern bands like Haken, Leprous or Soen. They had the energy, the musicianship and the right attitude to achieve that goal.

However, and sadly, the result is a pretty forgettable record which is interesting to be heard two or three times, but ultimately boring and not catchy enough to resist a continued listening.

My rating: **