Wuthering Heights - To Travel For Evermore

Year of Release: 2002
Label: Sensory
Catalog Number: SR3014
Format: CD
Total Time: 55:00:00

Wuthering Heights is back with a new disc, and a new outlook. Their last disc, Within, was met with mixed reviews, but still showed what the band was capable of. To Travel For Evermore shows exactly what the band is made of, while solidifying their signature sound, which is symphonic / progressive power metal with folk elements. Yes, folk elements mixed in with the other styles. A truly unique blend of power, melody, and folk styles, the band continues to keep their progressive sound alive, yet this time they have opted to inject a huge folk element into their music. At times, they remind me of Rhapsody, except less speedy and more folk-like. Wuthering Heights chooses to remain heavy this time out as well, except that a couple of aspects have changed.

First, the songwriting has gotten much better, and there is a lot more thought put into this disc in the writing dept. They had long songs previously, but this time, with tracks that 7 - 9:00 in length, they manage to keep the songs more interesting, heavier, and more dramatic. The key word here is dramatic. It sounds as though the band is more comfortable with itself and has a lot more confidence. The guitars are heavier, the keyboards play a bigger role, and the overall sound is very symphonic and dramatic.

Second, the production is much better this time out as well. Within sounded a lot less bombastic, less confident, and less powerful overall. Here, the production pulls out the key elements of the band, mainly the guitars and vocals.

Kristian "Krille" Andren (ex-Tad Morose) clearly feels more at home on this outing, rather than a guest singer who was handed a tape and asked to sing on it. He clearly "feels" the music here, and is singing in a much more powerful voice than ever. His style has not changed over the years, and his power and range are still evident.

Of note, there are many more instrumental passages here, showing off the skills of the various members of the band. The disc serves a dual purpose; one in showing the maturity of the band, the other the skill level. Each song is divided into smaller parts of the whole, changing tempos, beats, and other times giving the impression that the song has changed completely to the next song, while you find yourself immersed the entire time in one whole song. Each song is written like in story-like fashion, true to Rhapsody and Blind Guardian style, with Wuthering Heights clearly being the more progressive of the mentioned bands. The music ranges from speedy / double bass tunes to progressive passages that completely change the feel of the song, to shorter / chunkier passages.

If you like your progressive metal mixed up with several style of music, with certain, symphonic / majestic style, injected with folk elements along the way, you won't be disappointed with Wuthering Heights. While people are complaining about clones, bands that release similar music with each disc, and are looking for something unique, Wuthering Heights is a good place to find some unique, powerful, progressive metal.

Tracklisting:
Behind Tearstained Ice (2:15) / The Neverending Stones (6:25) / Dancer In The Light (5:31) / Lost Realms (8:28) / Battle Of The Seasons (8:50) / A Sinner's Confession (Parts 1- 4) (9:37) / See Tomorrow Shine (5:13) / Through Within To Beyond (6:50) / River Oblivion (3:51)

Musicians:
Erik Ravn - guitars, bass, keyboards
Rune S. Brink ? keyboards
Henrik Flyman - guitars
Morten Sorensen ? drums
Kristian 'Krille' Andren ? vocals

Special guest:

Lorenzo Deho ? bass

Discography:
Within (1999)
To Travel For Evermore (2002)
Far From The Madding Crowd (2004)
The Shadow Cabinet (2006)

Genre: Progressive-Power Metal

Origin DK

Added: January 12th 2003
Reviewer: Larry "LarryD" Daglieri

Artist website: www.wuthering-heights.dk
Hits: 2323
Language: english