{"id":56949,"date":"2018-03-21T21:11:55","date_gmt":"2018-03-22T02:11:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=56949"},"modified":"2018-03-21T21:11:55","modified_gmt":"2018-03-22T02:11:55","slug":"whyzdom-as-time-turns-to-dust-music-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2018\/whyzdom-as-time-turns-to-dust-music-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Whyzdom | As Time Turns To Dust"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Joe Mis<\/span>
\n\u2014 Sr. Columnist \u2014<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"European Symphonic Metal veterans Whyzdom are poised to release their fourth studio album entitled As Time Turns To Dust<\/em>, and fans of the genre are in for a treat! Superb orchestration, energetic performance, crisp production, and well-crafted, intelligent songwriting are all here for fans of Symphonic and Orchestral Metal to enjoy. Big, juicy, and complex tracks (the shortest tune is five and a half minutes) make Whyzdom’s concept album a true musical journey.<\/p>\n

Founded back in 2007 by guitarist\/producer Vynce Leff, Whyzdom has gone through a relatively small number of lineup changes since its inception. Marie MacLeod has fronted the band since 2013, singing crisply and clearly with an operatic high end that she uses sparingly when appropriate rather than as a crutch. Leff’s orchestration is spectacular and creates a complete atmosphere around the core melodies, and he is no slouch on the guitar either. Fellow six-stringer R\u00e9gis Morin complements him well, and the pair work to create intricate rhythms with keyboard player Marc Ruhlmann, drummer Nic Chaumeaux, and bassist Tristan Demurger. Whyzdom released their debut EP Daughter Of The Night<\/em> in 2007, and full length albums From the Brink of Infinity<\/em> in 2009, Blind?<\/em> in 2012, and Symphony for a Hopeless God<\/em> in 2015.<\/p>\n

Their music is all built on flow and tempo, always melodic no mater the pace. The 8 minute epic \u201cFly Away\u201d is the prime example \u2013 it is broad in style and tempo, cinematic and theatrical. The band’s true classical influences are obvious, and the use of \u201creal\u201d orchestral instruments (strings, brass, woodwinds, etc.) adds warmth and feeling to each track. Frequent key changes enrich the sound and keep the listeners fully engaged, yet somehow despite the technical complexity the overall sound is clean, accessible, and fluid.<\/p>\n

The album is a concept album. According to the band, it was inspired by the Latin phrase \u201cMemento homo quia pulvis es et in pulverem reverteris\u201d – more familiar to us as \u201cRemember, man, that you are dust, and to dust you will return.\u201d Most of the tracks are reflections on that idea \u2013 that nothing is permanent and all things will end. Themes of innocence against moral decay abound, but rather than being a morbid, murky, sad bunch of songs, the lyrics and tone convey a sense of hope.<\/p>\n

The album opens with keyboards and massive vocals in \u201cArmour of Dust\u201d before the rest of the band joins in. This track that shows not only the breadth and depth of Marie’s voice, but highlights the musical complexities and technical abilities of the balance of the band. \u201cArmageddon\u201d is pure Symphonic Metal \u2013 taken to almost Epica-like extremes \u2013 and packed with everything but the kitchen sink. Epica is probably the most logical comparison, which shows the true pedigree of Whyzdom and Marie MacLeod. \u201cArmageddon\u201d is packed with wild tempo changes, operatic and choral vocals, soft atmospheric passages \u2013 it is Whyzdom in a nutshell! MacLeod’s vocals during the opening passages of \u201cThe Page\u201d are simply jaw-dropping, and the whole band takes it to 11 in \u201cFollow Your Heart\u201d and \u201cAngel of Tears.\u201d <\/p>\n

Whyzdom’s As Time Turns to Dust<\/em> is a Classical, Symphonic, Orchestral Metal masterpiece. Great music, amazing vocals (not just MacLeod’s lead – \u201cThe Dark Whispers Choir\u201d brings it as well), and fine technical performances are all on display. The band’s veteran status is obvious, as is there love for what they do. At points heavy and bombastic while light and airy at others, Whyzdom focuses on melody without getting buried in the technical nuances. Their music is accessible and listener-friendly!<\/p>\n

Fans of the Classical Metal genres should not miss Whyzdom’s As Time Turns to Dust<\/em> \u2013 it is very highly recommended!<\/p>\n

Genre: Symphonic Metal<\/p>\n

Band:
\nMarie MacLeod (Rouyer) – Vocals
\nMarc Ruhlmann – Keyboard
\nR\u00e9gis Morin – Guitars
\nNicolas Chaumeaux – Drums
\nVynce Leff \u2013 Guitar \/ Orchestration
\nTristan Demurger \u2013 Bass
\nChoir Vocals by \u201cThe Dark Whispers Choir\u201d – Ninia, Azad\u00e9, S\u00e9gol\u00e8ne, and Carole.<\/p>\n

Track Listing:
\n1.\tArmour Of Dust
\n2.\tArmageddon
\n3.\tFly Away
\n4.\tThe Page
\n5.\tFollow Your Heart
\n6.\tAngel Of Tears
\n7.\tFree As A Bird
\n8.\tThe Mistchild
\n9.\tDust We Are<\/p>\n

Label: Scarlet Records<\/p>\n

Website: http:\/\/www.whyzdom.org\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven rating: [usr 9 size=20]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Joe Mis \u2014 Sr. Columnist \u2014 European Symphonic Metal veterans Whyzdom are poised to release their fourth studio album entitled As Time Turns To Dust, and fans of the genre are in for a […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":56950,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15129],"tags":[14325,12354,1838,1100,14324],"class_list":{"0":"post-56949","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arcrvws2018","8":"tag-as-time-turns-to-dust","9":"tag-music-review","10":"tag-scarlet-records","11":"tag-symphonic-metal","12":"tag-whyzdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56949","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56949"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56949\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/56950"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56949"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56949"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56949"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}