PART THE SECOND

While this album has been released under the name Maudlin of the Well, it's hard not to compare it to "the band", ahem, Toby Driver's other outputs with Kayo Dot. The music is very much less raw than the original motw days, yet despite its refinement it still manages to be bold.

This review will be different than my previous ones, as I will point out parts I really enjoy, rather than try and persuade you to get it. Hell, it's free, so I figure if you are already taking time to read this, you'll take the time to get the album.

Excerpt from 6,000,000,000... (5:30-6:15) - Represents a shift in gears with a crashing chord a la King Crimson, fits beautifully into the rest of the song. (8:42-10:20) -Keys come in to provide pacing for the rest of the instruments, a wonderful touch. Guitar isn't overdone but is still present, something I have always loved about their style.

Another Excerpt... (3:25-5:30) - Vocals come in, song shifts gears, leads to a plodding bass line that provides tension

Rose Quartz... (5:15-7:30) - Tapping into very Pink Floydish vocal style during this section. Actually quite tame compared to other motw sections, but I quite like it.

Clover Garland Island (nothing in particular stands out, but a splendid track no less)

Laboratories of the Invisible - (Easily my favorite track here, so many wonderful moments) (opening-1:45) -almost like a fledgling seed struggling to survive the initial stages of life in the world, only to take root, and structure into a fully formed plant (and in this case, song) (1:45-3:30) -kicked into gear, pace has increased, vivacious, and featuring more eclectic vocals (4:35-5:05) -wonderful rhythm section with more pulsating action, (5:08-7:05) -the reason to love motw, their open "soundscapes" are just beyond beautiful, nearly impossible for me to describe the feeling I get when listening to sections like this, truly mesmerizing, this is easily the best part of the whole album (8:18-10:20) right when the heaven-like bass comes in, giving an aura of walking on clouds

It's difficult for me to choose between different motw and kayo dot outputs. As the old phrase goes, its like picking your favorite kid. But since this is the newest one, I'm going to fawn over it for a while.

Share this MAUDLIN OF THE WELL review

Social review comments () BETA

---

---

Review related links

• Send comments to OpethGuitarist
• Report this review (#216236)
• Buy MAUDLIN OF THE WELL music online with PA partners
• Show all MAUDLIN OF THE WELL MP3/Stream
• Go to MAUDLIN OF THE WELL page for videos, full discography with ratings, reviews and much more
• Go to Part the Second page for more details, where to buy and ratings/reviews
• Search the Forum for MAUDLIN OF THE WELL related discussions