Okay, first things first. This record sounds like the
flawless bastard love- child of Coldplay’s dreaminess and Metal’s aggression.
Anything else I say would be a waste of characters, but since I’m writing a
review and not a blurb, I must, and will, soldier on.
The record consists
of 16 tracks, with guest work from the likes of Sithu Aye, Matthieu Romarin (of
Uneven Structures) and Gru, who lend their amazing lead- forging skills to a
few. The production is extremely tight and so are the guitars. Well, djent
actually, and because there is so much more going on thematically, they never
sound overly repetitive or boring at any point.
Some of the stand out tracks in the album are Aries (guest
appearance: Gru), which has a sublime lead midway through the track; Orion, for
its acoustic- sounding first half; and my personal favourite- Cosmic Ocean
(guest appearance by Tomas Raclavsky).
My only qualm is that the songs are a bit too short, because
I would definitely love to hear more of tracks like “ION” and “Ursa Major”
(even though the latter is the longest track in the album). Also I would
definitely welcome some more guitar lead work.
Overall, “Outside the Universe” is a great record to kick back, relax and listen to. Also, artists like Widek and many others like him are testament to the fact that while studios are getting smaller and cheaper, the music they put out sounds larger than ever.
