Withem "The Unforgiving Road"

Country: Norway
Genre(s): Progressive Metal
Label: Frontiers Music srl
Format: CD, digital
Release date: June 3, 2016
Tracklist: 
1. …Intro (2:03)
2. Exit (5:28)
3. In The Hands Of A God (4:55)
4. The Pain I Collected (4:17)
5. Riven (5:52)
6. C'est La Vie (6:28)
7. The Eye In The Sky (3:54)
8. Arrhythmia (3:48)
9. In My Will (3:29)
10. Unaffected Love (5:37)
11. Outro… (1:16)

Total time 47:07

Line-up: 
Ole Aleksander Wagenius - Vocals
Frank Nordeng Røe - Drums
Oyvind V Larsen - Guitar
Miguel Pereira - Bass
  With
Espen Storø (Circus Maximus) - Keyboards
Neemias Teixeira (Sigma Project) - Keyboards

Description/Reviews: 

On the composition side, it has a very healthy amount of melody, huge but not overly complex compositions, good songwriting and great instrumental performances. On the vocals side, I believe that is mainly what makes or breaks bands in the genre because many singers out there are just unable to hold their ground with so many changes happening in the music or spend the whole time straining their voice to keep up. Thankfully, this is not the case with Withem. I’m glad to say that Ole Aleksander Wagenius is right on point here, his voice is clear and fits the melodies perfectly through both the slow and heavy parts.

What most surprised me is that Withem‘s music is extremely catchy and melodic, something rare in the prog world. In fact, Withem‘s The Unforgiving Road reminds me a lot of Seventh Wonder and Mind’s Eye, two bands well-known for that, and a factor in which production plays an important role. On The Unforgiving Road, the mix was done by guitarist Øyvind Voldmo Larsen and is another point in favour as the sound is dynamic and constrained showing all the layers, not favoring any of the musicians or excessively sharp with cropping which is so common these days.

Read the full review at sleazeroxx.com

Media/Samples 
3 tracks

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