Skip to main content

Review: Kissed By An Angel & Endless Void by Dan Wande


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.


You can listen to Kissed By An Angel & Endless Void on Spotify and Youtube.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Interview: Eneko Artola

In a relatively short time Eneko Artola has gone from an unknown figure with a passion for music to one of the most notable new producers in house and music today. His background is fascinating, and his rise is one that seems to be nowhere near it's peak yet. His music combines the kind of soulful, vocal-led house music popularised a few years ago by the likes of Duke Dumont, Disclosure and Swedish House Mafia, and through the latter half of the 2010s has developed into the Electro-Chill and Tropical House scenes. Eneko puts a distinctive French twist into his sound though, reminiscent of some of the French House artists like Cassius or Justice, and it's a sound which has helped him gain some remarkable traction in such a short time. Based in London, the 20 year old originally hails from the French area of the Basque Country; but his travels have taken him beyond Europe, spending time in Canada and China before coming to the UK. In the first part of this interview we talked abo...
1 comment
Read more

Review: Voodoo Macbeth by The Judex

In the modern age, garage rock is one of those genre tags which manages to be somewhat intangible yet also quite specific at the same time; you know the kind of sounds to expect, yet it's also quite hard to pinpoint exactly what defines those sounds as garage rock. Sure there's fuzzy punk rock guitars, relentlessly loud drums and booming rock'n'roll vocals, but then you could say that about any number of genres. The nature of garage rock is more in it's historical outlook, and the utilisation of influences from a bygone era. That doesn't mean garage rock should be a genre reserved specifically for a niche subculture though, because while there is a rich fandom around the style, the best garage rock bands are those who can, musically at least, transcend some of the clichés inherent in those vintage tropes. This is where we find Philadelphia natives The Judex, a four piece whose intense form of garage rock blends in elements from blues, soul, rockabilly and punk. ...
1 comment
Read more

Review: At The Boiling Point by Marshall Oakman

There's something about boogie-woogie in it's modern form that is incredibly joyous. The melting pot of blues, rock n roll and r'n'b that defines the style is infectious but, certainly for those of us in the UK at least, it's rarely heard outside of Jools Holland's TV show jams. And when you do hear it, it's rarely done as well as Marshall Oakman's At The Boiling Point, an instantly catchy and remarkably well composed track that hits every mark a great modern boogie-woogie track should. Marshall Oakman may not be a familiar name, but over his extensive career the New York based musician has forged an impressive path not only as a talented songwriter but also a tremendous performer, with a strong reputation across the Eastern US. For his latest single he has enlisted the help of fellow New Yorkers Kasim Sulton on bass, Liberty DeVitto on drums and Paul Pesco on guitar, all of whom come with fantastic experience and provide skilful playing on the track. At...
Post a Comment
Read more