HUMAN

Darkwater is a Swedish prog metal band, founded in 2003, the band released the albums Calling The Earth To Witness (2006) and Where Stories End (2010), then it took 9 years before Darkwater came with a third album entitled Human (2019). Although I am not very much into prog metal I don't dislike the genre. Because as a huge fan of Deep Purple, Uriah Heep, Led Zeppelin and Rush I am always up to heavy guitars and bombastic keyboards.

Listening to this album I notice that the musicians are skilled and the singer does a very good job in English. It is also the very distinctive realm of the prog metal (with hints from Dream Theater and Ayreon, along Europe) featuring heavy guitars and a thunderous rhythm-section. But Darkwater add two elements that make it more interesting than the average prog metal band. First the outstanding keyboard work, not only flashy synthesizer flights, but also sparkling piano, a captivating contrast with the heavy sound. There are awesome Gothic female choir layers in In Front Of You, Alive Part II and The Journey. And an orchestral sound in Turning Pages, and the final track Light Of Dawn (also sutble organ arpeggios in the intro).

And second the band knows how and when to slow down, in order to create tension, and to keep my attention. Like in the opener A New Beginning, from tender piano to a 24-carat prog metal climate with thunderous drums and heavy guitar riffs. And also in the dreamy Alive Part I (mellow vocals, acoustic guitar and soaring keyboards) and the varied Burdens (between dreamy and bombastic).

The magnum opus on this album is the alternating epic Reflections On A Mind: a splendid, very varied keyboard sound, an excellent vocal job, and exciting propulsive guitar riffs and thunderous drums, this is top notch prog metal!

Highly recommended, not only for the prog metal fans, but also those progheads who are into harder-edged prog and Heavy Prog.

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