Wilderun - "Epigone"

Genre : Progressive metal

Released : January 7th, 2022

Label : Century Media Records

FFO : Opeth, Native Construct, Caligula's Horse, Devin Townsend

I originally almost ended up scratching this one from my list of January releases I wanted to check out.

"Why tho? ", I hear you ask.

Well, I'm simply just not too keen on overly symphonic prog metal or the "Opethian" sound and approach to composition in the genre (ooo, controversial opinion there), and that is what I was expecting from this band and album.

Turns out, I'm extremely glad I gave it a shot because "Epigone" is absolutely amazing and it conquered my sceptic ass right from the get-go.

The performances and compositional skills are absolutely mint and the album is packed with some truly gorgeous orchestral arrangements that bring a stunning level of epicness which never drifts into cringe-worthy territory like it can very easily be the case in these types of compositions within prog metal.

Between the theatricality, the scholarly level of technicality and emphasis on orchestrations, I was rapidly reminded of the now defunct Native Construct and this is the only thing that has come close to being able to fill the void they left after their departure from the scene.

This is the kind of stuff that rekindles my love and amazement for modern progressive metal, so if you're a proghead, you should definitely not make the mistake I almost made and partake in the bombastic yet crushing epic Wilderun have laid out for us to hear.