WASTEFALL

Third album, and first released Stateside, from this Greek prog/power juggernaut. WASTEFALL do that whole overwrought, intense, story-of-a-fucked-up-life thing, triangulated somewhere between PAIN OF SALVATION, NEVERMORE, DEADSOUL TRIBE and EVERGREY, with just enough off-the-rails craziness and ethnic flavor to make it stand out. I mean, it's hard to imagine any of the current leading lights of prog metal pulling off a song like "Dance of Descent" — it's like some kind of Mediterranean MR. BUNGLE cabana anthem, with risky vocals that wordlessly moan along to the guitar melody in one spot, and acoustic frippery straight off the patio of some open-air restaurant. Weird!

Not to worry if that sounds off-putting, the band spends most of their time treading familiar (to this sub-genre, anyway) conventions. The drumming is staggering, really, the drum patterns kinda just erupting everywhere yet never seeming overly intrusive (think Richard Christy's tastefully all-over-the-place style). There's the requisite slinky time changes, alongside songs that forego the technicality for anguished vocals and lush instrumental pathos (see "Strife For Definition") — indeed, as over-the-top as WASTEFALL can be chops-wise, one of their biggest strengths is that they know when to throttle it back, and let the story tell itself. They're not locked into one vision of the band, and are unafraid to sound like whatever they feel like at any given moment.

And just when you think they've lost you, with the perhaps too-maudlin "Sleepwalk", they kick in with "E.Y.E.", a song that bashes like prime NEVERMORE before jarringly shifting gears into a stop-start piano part (!). It takes a few listens to sort everything out, and realize that there's a method to the madness here — first impressions may be chaotic, but WASTEFALL have this shit down to an exacting science, and anyone up for the challenge will be richly rewarded.

Sure, it's all a bit gratuitous and show-offy, but the hell of it is that it works. WASTEFALL are the perfect prog band for the iPod generation – influenced by just about everything, skilled enough to throw it all in the pot, and not squeamish about a PANTERA harmonic squeal and an indulgent, theatrical vocal performance with a string section co-existing within the same song. "Self Exile" is a dazzling, dizzying record with a lot of heart, a definite grower for those willing to put the time in, and an impressive step up for a band that oughta take this scene by storm.