At this point I'm pretty familiar with Swedish musician Dan Wande, having written about him and his music several times on this blog, but it's always interesting to see how an artist progresses with each release. On his new two track record, Kissed By An Angel & Endless Void, Dan Wande gives us his most well crafted tracks yet that show a subtle development in song writing, an increasingly polished production, and a solidified sound that establishes well and truly what Dan Wande is all about. Combining the hard hitting and progressive sounds of 80s metal, with the melodic and atmospheric sounds of 70s occult rock and an increased use of darker modern metal grooves, these tracks take you to a place where heavy metal remains sitting atop it's glorious and timeless throne.
One of the most definitive changes has been a new band line-up. Whilst Dan Wande has always been the sole song-writer of his music, different performers will always bring something new to a composition, particularly in heavy metal where the impact of a sound can be altered by the smallest of details. Fabio Alessandrini, who for the last five years has been drumming with Canadian thrash metal legends Annihilator, takes his place behind the kit for these two tracks. His experience in thrash is evident, with plenty of rumbling double kick drum, punching snare and precise fills giving a natural heaviness to the tracks even in their more melodic moments. Mark Brown and Marcin Palider both return, on keyboards and bass respectively, along with guitarist Giacomo Pasquali. Providing the guitar solos this time is Adam Ward, whose versatility in multiple styles is evident throughout his work here. All of these performances are brought together brilliantly by the well balanced mix and master, which comes courtesy of Cristoffer Borg at Far Beyond Productions in Gothenburg.
Kissed By An Angel is one of those metal tunes that is chock full of catchy hooks manifested as striking riffs, and they are also some of the heaviest Dan Wande has produced so far. The use of organ in metal can be quite divisive, but Dan Wande gets the balance with the guitars spot on, allowing those keys to provide another layer of atmospheric timbre to the track. The fantastical lyrics provide an air of mystical romance and danger, and few genres soundtrack these themes as brilliantly as metal can. The vocals are as well performed as ever, but still maintain his unique organic tone that seems to sit somewhere between Axl Rose and Tobias Forge.
Endless Void is driven by some excellent backing vocals provided by Ulrica Backman and Eugenio Paludi, conjuring up visions of the occult rock style that was purveyed so brilliantly by the likes of Blue Oyster Cult and Black Widow, as well as modern practitioners such as Ghost and Blood Ceremony. The track descends into a feast of heavy metal fury, with rampant thrashy riffs and an epic chorus sitting astride several majestic solos that are impressive without being unnecessarily technical and flashy.
Combining the heaviness and darkness of metal with it's more positive and triumphant side is something Dan Wande has always done magnificently, and Kissed By An Angel and Endless Void are no different. What is different though is how well formed and powerful these tracks are. On previous releases a feeling always remained that Dan Wande was still refining his sound, seeking out the best elements he could use from his influences to express himself in a way which felt authentic and exciting. With these two tracks, that refinement seems to be complete, and now we can look forward to enjoying even more of Dan Wande's foot-stomping, fist-pumping, head-banging heavy metal.
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