ULTRA SELFISH REVOLUTION

"Ultra-Selfish Revolution" is the 2nd full-length studio album by progressive/groove metal act Egoist. The album was released through Selfmadegod Records in March 2009. Egoist is a one-man project formed by Stanislaw Wolonciej in 2006 (Wolonciej is also the drummer in NewBreed and Angerpath). Wolonciej had quite a few issues releasing his debut full-length studio album "Dead Egg (2007)", as the label (Magik Art Entertainment) he had a deal with broke the contract, so the album was never officially released. There are copies available for download on the internet, and according to Wolonciej it's not illegal to download them. As the case was on the debut album Wolonciej performs all instruments and vocals on "Ultra-Selfish Revolution", except a couple of guest guitar solos by Patrick Mameli (Pestilence).

Stylistically the material on "Ultra-Selfish Revolution" continues the progressive groove laden and heavy metal style of "Dead Egg (2007)". I hear a strong Meshuggah influence in the heavy odd-metered riffs and rhythms, but there is a dominant atmospheric element in the music too (atmopsheric guitars and synths add that element). The vocals aren't harsh, and often remind me of the unorthodox clean vocals in Voivod. Wolonciej doesn't have the most distinct sounding voice, but his delivery has improved a lot since the debut, where the vocals were definitely the weak link in the music. Here they aren't extraordinary, but they aren't weak either.

The musicianship is strong and it's not audible that Wolonciej is predominantly a drummer. He is a very capable multi- instrumentalist. "Ultra-Selfish Revolution" features a well sounding and powerful production, which suits the material on the 8 track, 42:14 minutes long album perfectly. Upon conclusion it's a step up in professionalism, delivery, and songwriting compared to the debut album. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives)