by Justin Gaines
– Senior Columnist/News Editor —
While we anxiously await a full-length follow-up to 2013’s The Inheritance, Witherscape gave us a killer EP, titled The New Tomorrow, to tide us over. Witherscape is, of course, the latest excursion into Melodic/Progressive/Death Metal territory by Nightingale and former Edge of Sanity mastermind Dan Swano.
The New Tomorrow is an interesting collection of songs. There are ten tracks, but only five new songs. Here’s the breakdown:
1. The New Tomorrow – The title track is the only brand new Witherscape song on the EP. It’s very much a Witherscape song, in keeping with the general atmosphere of The Inheritance. It’s very heavy and very atmospheric, and despite clocking in at less than five minutes, it feels like an epic song.
2. Defenders of Creation – This is a cover of the Warrior song. Covering Warrior in the first place was an unexpected move, and choosing this song instead of the standard “Fighting For the Earth” is another interesting choice. They do a great job on it though, bringing all of its power and heaviness over while adding their own unique touch.
3. A World Without Heroes – Covering KISS may not be much of a stretch, but choosing a song from Music From “The Elder” definitely is. Between the subtle keyboards and Dan Swano’s powerful vocals, this is a masterfully executed cover.
4. Out in the Cold – Rounding out the three bold choices is “Out in the Cold,” perhaps the best song on Judas Priest’s much maligned album Turbo. Witherscape replaces the synths with acoustic guitar, and still manage to capture all of the song’s power while enhancing its already haunting nature.
5. Dead For Another Day – This is an acoustic reworking of the song “Dead For a Day” from The Inheritance. It was already one of Witherscape’s catchiest songs. Now it’s just sublime.
The EP closes with alternate “vinyl mix” versions of all five songs. Whether these versions sound much different or add any value to The New Tomorrow will depend on how much of an audiophile you are. It certainly doesn’t hurt anything to have them here.
It may not be quite as satisfying as a proper full-length Witherscape album, but there is literally nothing to complain about here. The new song is excellent, the cover songs are all inspired choices and the reworked song is brilliant. If you loved The Inheritance, you need to own The New Tomorrow. And if you missed that album somehow but are into bands like Opeth and Amorphis (or any of Swano’s earlier projects), you need to remedy that right away.
Genre: Progressive Metal, Death Metal
Band:
Dan Swano (v) (k) (d)
Ragnar Widerberg (g) (b)
Track Listing:
1. The New Tomorrow
2. Defenders of Creation
3. A World Without Heroes
4. Out in the Cold
5. Dead For Another Day
6. The New Tomorrow (vinyl mix)
7. Defenders of Creation (vinyl mix)
8. A World Without Heroes (vinyl mix)
9. Out in the Cold (vinyl mix)
10. Dead For Another Day (vinyl mix)
Label: Century Media
Website: www.witherscape.com
Hardrock Haven rating: 8.75/10
