After 'The Grey Realms' in 2017 that had struck me (see here), I was looking forward to the release of his little brother 'The Waste Land' which came out early 2019. And I was not disappointed because, listening after listening, we find this concept where music is inseparable from the story with the 3 characters, Patrick, Lillian and Odessa still held respectively by 'Harri Koskela', 'Anne Lill' and 'Emily Leone' (see the presentation of the theme made by Anne here) and for the occasion, they invited several artists that you can discover in the you tube video here). As I already mentioned, 'Lost In Grey' has created a unique style and is intended for a metal audience that is open to a variety of genres as each title has its own atmosphere and they have this talent to shake up habits : first of all, from the start, we could expect in this kind of album to a symphonic instrumental introduction but, on the contrary, they choose an energetic title 'The Waste Land' which sets the scene in a very effective way with already a beautiful vocal level demonstration. It is with following title 'Expectations' where 'Nele Messerschmidt' intervenes in a masterful way (see the last album of 'Elvellon' here), that we have the most this fusion between classical music with the use of a piano and strings and the power of metal giving a emotional force brought by this contrast between strength and serenity. Follows 'Unohdukseen Katoaa' which is sung in Finnish and in which emerges a grandiose atmosphere which is reinforced by imposing choruses and a remarkable vocal work, then the beautiful ballad '1992' adds some emotion with a melody that is in tune with the theme of losing a loved one. The sequel takes us into a very melodic and catchy 'Far Beyond and Further' which deals with the greed of humans that makes us run to our ruin but who is fundamentally optimistic and hopeful in the ability of the human being to know evolve towards more wisdom, then, 'Wolves Among Men' takes us into a strange and theatrical atmosphere that still highlights the beautiful complicity between the different vocal parts. Finally, 'Prelude for Emptiness' which is a semi-instrumental title filled with serenity with magnificent choruses serves as an introduction to the last title of more than 12 minutes 'Drifting in the Universe' , the master piece of the album, which embarks us in an epic saga with all the ingredients that we have found before and with a grand final that rises to power to fall back and then regains some power with a heady final melody to finish quietly with some piano notes. If you want more details on each title, Harri and Anne recorded three videos to present them here, here and here. In summary, the Finns of 'Lost In Grey' continue in their creative process that merges music and history into a unique work and if you like to mix rather distant genres such as symphonic and metal as could be has been done by groups like 'Therion' (see here) or 'Mayan' (see here), you'll be probably captivated by 'The Waste Land'... | |
