Album: Over the Drowning Water (2006)
Genre: Prog Metal (Melodic/Power Metal) / Slovakia
Ah, a seventh band from Slovakia reaching my ears. So far the stylistic spectrum coming my way was pretty diverse actually, one each from Gothic Metal, Heavy Metal, Death Metal, Doom Metal, Gothic Black Metal and Gothic Death Metal. Now I never had either Progressive or Power Metal come out of this country and Bratislava's CASTAWAY take care of this and so far GALADRIEL have been my favourite Slovakian band, how do they fare against the latest insurgent? Well, I did not have the highest hopes for "Over The Drowning Water", as it is the full length debut of the band, I admit it. Apparently formed by a merger of the two bands AMALTHEA and DEAD POETS SOCIETY in 2004, the sextet's sound can be best described as a bit more complex Power Metal of the non-generic kind with a healthy influence from ANGEL DUST. Now before you think I have gone nuts, there are a few factors in CASTAWAY's sound that remind me of the Germans, Mayo Petranin's voice is not a dead-ringer for Dirk Thurisch, but has this kind of unique touch, same goes for the use of the keyboards and the overall atmosphere that the compositions build up, if the quality is right, that is a potential winner for me! And dammit, is the quality ever right! Listen to the atmospheric Power Metal of "Wanting Seed" and its subtle complexity paired with the intense vocal performance and tell me it isn't so! And as the album progresses, they continue to explore other avenues branching off, "Sanity Embraces" has this incredible atmosphere, cool dynamics and an unusual vocal line that gives it character, "Wish You Could Save Me (Unfinished Dreams Part I.)" is faster, yet still expressive, "Castaway" starts out acoustically, culminates in an epic chorus and overall offers a lot of variety and dynamics, while "Goodbye To All That" is kind of a semi-ballad, but at the same time isn't... Not all that glitters is gold yet in the sound of CASTAWAY, but for a band that is just delivering its first complete album, "Over The Drowning Water" has turned out to be a more than remarkable, in some places even impressive offering that gives me very high hopes for the future of these guys, if you like ANGEL DUST and bordering bands, you should definitely check out this Slovaks! Oh, and I am very sorry to say that GALADRIEL have been dethroned, for now CASTAWAY are my favourite Slovakian band!
Review by "Alex" (www.metal-observer.com).
RATING: 8.25 / 10 **GREAT**
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Genre: Prog Metal (Melodic/Power Metal) / Slovakia
Ah, a seventh band from Slovakia reaching my ears. So far the stylistic spectrum coming my way was pretty diverse actually, one each from Gothic Metal, Heavy Metal, Death Metal, Doom Metal, Gothic Black Metal and Gothic Death Metal. Now I never had either Progressive or Power Metal come out of this country and Bratislava's CASTAWAY take care of this and so far GALADRIEL have been my favourite Slovakian band, how do they fare against the latest insurgent? Well, I did not have the highest hopes for "Over The Drowning Water", as it is the full length debut of the band, I admit it. Apparently formed by a merger of the two bands AMALTHEA and DEAD POETS SOCIETY in 2004, the sextet's sound can be best described as a bit more complex Power Metal of the non-generic kind with a healthy influence from ANGEL DUST. Now before you think I have gone nuts, there are a few factors in CASTAWAY's sound that remind me of the Germans, Mayo Petranin's voice is not a dead-ringer for Dirk Thurisch, but has this kind of unique touch, same goes for the use of the keyboards and the overall atmosphere that the compositions build up, if the quality is right, that is a potential winner for me! And dammit, is the quality ever right! Listen to the atmospheric Power Metal of "Wanting Seed" and its subtle complexity paired with the intense vocal performance and tell me it isn't so! And as the album progresses, they continue to explore other avenues branching off, "Sanity Embraces" has this incredible atmosphere, cool dynamics and an unusual vocal line that gives it character, "Wish You Could Save Me (Unfinished Dreams Part I.)" is faster, yet still expressive, "Castaway" starts out acoustically, culminates in an epic chorus and overall offers a lot of variety and dynamics, while "Goodbye To All That" is kind of a semi-ballad, but at the same time isn't... Not all that glitters is gold yet in the sound of CASTAWAY, but for a band that is just delivering its first complete album, "Over The Drowning Water" has turned out to be a more than remarkable, in some places even impressive offering that gives me very high hopes for the future of these guys, if you like ANGEL DUST and bordering bands, you should definitely check out this Slovaks! Oh, and I am very sorry to say that GALADRIEL have been dethroned, for now CASTAWAY are my favourite Slovakian band!
Review by "Alex" (www.metal-observer.com).
RATING: 8.25 / 10 **GREAT**
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