Calling Earth To Witness

I once discovered prog metal through the band Dream theater and quickly moved through the excellence of similar bands in quick succession; which inevitably saw me finding other excellent outfits such as Symphony X and Threshold. Sweden on the other hand are rapidly emerging as a nation of some serious developers of class prog metal bands. At the top of my prog list there- is Seventh wonder and Darkwater. Here Darkwater waste no time in launching themselves straight into the prog metal deep end with this terrific debut album from 2007. Calling the earth to witness begins with the short prelude intro "2534167" and then into the first real track "All eyes on me" A sharp and tuneful 9 minute number straight away giving the band ample time and space to demonstrate some nice prog licks. Then "Again" fires of with another 9 minute piece of a "slightly" more gritty guitar fest, which sees Hendrik and Marcus letting loose with some superb leads; this is complimented by the presence of Magnus and Tobias which add a delicate texture through excellent keyboard and drumwork.

"Habit" The album's epic is just that and showcases some impressive technical skills and progness; expertly avoiding the noodling trap. At over 12 minutes hardly short, but gladly doesn't overstay it's welcome. Next we have "The play 1 & 2" which I have found to be one of the two album highlights, play 1 is a beautiful piano esque providing the perfect entry for the second part of the split song. "Shattered, Tallest tree and finally the closer In my dreams" don't lower the tone and continues to maintain the very high standard right up until the album conclusion despite both shattered and Tallest tree clocking in at around 10 minutes each. In my dreams closes the album in a very metallic riff haden style, which sits perfectly to end this outstanding prog journey.

Calling the earth to witness is probably the best prog metal debut for at least a generation. Actually, this is about as fine a work as I have heard in the prog metal genre and I am convinced in future years the effort will be regarded as a classic. The band deserve some mighty credit for these rich compositions and their handling of the prog metal candle with such consideration and care. All these tracks appear smooth, flowing and memorable; which invariably results in a highly replay-able great sounding record. Darkwater are clearly already very accomplished musicians and need no significant nods or inspiration from their like minded quell. Calling the earth to witness is a confident outing which already carves Darkwater a sound of their own and introduces a welcome influx of new musical sounds to the table. Going one better than this will certainly take some beating, though if there was a band out there which look capable of pulling off a finer and more refined successor to such an excellent debut I am sure Darkwater are that band.