Far from the Madding Crowd

Have you ever wished that Sonata Arctica's old material was played with even more riffs and melodies? Maybe that Dragonland wrote six- and seven-minute epics exclusively? Or perhaps you're just a really big fan of Korpiklaani and lots of poppy 80s music. Whatever the case is, Wuthering Heights' Far from the Madding Crowd will probably not appeal to more than a select audience. I don't really have many sarcastic witticisms to bestow upon this review opening, so let's just skip it and get to the meat of this album. And boy is there a lot of it.

This is one of those albums that is actually draining to listen to and concentrate on fully, because there's just so much in it. This album is virtually a collection of probably every idea, melody, riff and individual note the band had composed since their previous album, which I haven't heard yet. I mean there is no restraint, not even one iota of it found on this album at all. Most of these songs are over six minutes, with only two of them being under five - with one being a ballad and the other an instrumental, imagine that. The basic sound, I guess, is proggy Power Metal with a heaping helping of European folk music, which is at least endowed here with an actively challenging and interesting metal base, unlike some of the other shit I see passed off as 'folk metal.' There are a lot of squealing guitar acrobatics and arpeggios and trills and everything else that might appeal to fans of Prog Metal stuff. Again, though, it's all too much. Why does every song have to have so many parts? Why does there have to be an acoustic section diddling around with fiddles every other song? Fuck, guys, learn some restraint!

The vocals are handled by Nils Patrik Johansson, who is in almost every Swedish metal band these days, and whose theatrical parrot-on-vitriol voice never fails to entertain. I do have one thing to say about his performance on this particular album, though, because it straddles the line between hilarious and annoying. First of all, this album is the musical equivalent of a Lord of the Rings roleplay session. It's so kitschy and overblown that it might as well be. I sometimes have no problem with this if it's done with taste and style, but the real catch here is how good old Nils does this really terrible fake folksy accent, lilting his voice even more than usual in a rather vain attempt at sounding like a medieval bard. The effect is...rather mixed, as sometimes he belts out some cool stuff, but a lot of the time it's just kind of...silly, and not in a good way. You get the idea this album would have sounded more genuine if he hadn't tried at all to do this.

There is one other thing I must mention, and it's about the trio of songs titled "Longing for the Woods." I'm not going to bitch about how over long they all are, or about how lame the second part is, but...really. What the fuck is the logic in separating these three songs throughout the album and giving them all the same chorus? It's not even a good chorus. Yes, the songs go together, but if that's the case, why not just string them all together into one multi-part epic? I mean, sure, the chorus still would have been lame and overblown, but at least we could've gotten done with it and moved on, but the way they did it is like the itch that just won't go away. It's like trying to swat a bug and having it come back every time you try to forget about it and move on. It's just not very good songwriting, is what it is.

So, yeah, there are good parts in pretty much every song here, with "Highland Winds" and "The Road Goes Ever On" probably being the best ones, but every other song is listenable at least, with just enough good riffs or catchy melodies to make sure you don't turn it off, but not enough to remain truly engaging or stunning. It's kind of in the middle, with all the pitfalls of Power Metal and Prog, but at least a smidgen of originality and some of the redeeming factors of those genres, too. If you have a craving for some proggy, overwrought Power Metal, and you've already tried the bigger bands, Wuthering Heights' Far from the Madding Crowd should suffice enough, if only for one song or two.

So here’s Wuthering Heights’ third album, the end of the Wanderer’s journey and holy hell is this a killer ending. Everything the band has played before has just come together and been perfected on this record. Doesn’t sound like any of Wuthering Heights’ other albums, but that’s nothing new. Yet, the spirit remains, the music still captures you and thrusts you headfirst into a maelstrom of absolute heavy fucking metal. Pack your bags because you’ll be taken to realms long lost with this album.

Okay, where to begin? Well from the moment the intro track plays you can tell this is something you won’t hear anywhere else. An atmospheric and chilling bagpipe plays and you would be wise to sit down since you’ll be standing up and headbanging soon. The folk influences on this album are far, far more prominent than “To Travel...” and “Within.” You get taken to, if I may say, a land of olden glory where nature reigns supreme. Each song captivates you in a way unlike their previous albums, thanks largely to the folk passages and melodies. The atmospheric sound heard on “To Travel...” is expanded and perfected to say the least. Oh my, am I still on the first track? Seriously, this is the type of intro piece every band should strive for; you actually want to listen to it before going through the whole album.

After you get into the meat of the album you’ll notice something you can’t find on many other power metal albums. This is genuinely heavy as hell headbanging quality material. The previous two Wuthering Heights albums were largely more on the progressive and atmospheric side but here we have something that stays just as catchy and melodic but could instantly make you drive your car faster without you even noticing. When I said the sound heard on “To Travel...” was perfected, that is what I mean. The melodic, transcending sound is even greater on here than ever before but manages to add the adrenaline pumping heavy metal sound you need on a daily basis by order of your physician.

When I try to compare Wuthering Heights’ music to that of other bands I always draw a blank so I’m forced to refer to other Wuthering Heights albums. What else is different? Another new vocalist? Hell yeah! Nils Patrik Johansson has a completely unique voice in the realm of metal and he’s just what Wuthering Heights needed. Well, they kept him for another album after this, which is something they haven’t done before. He has a voice that dances between the lines of rough and clean with a heavy accent. He can hit every note; go clean and melodic and rough and harsh. Another reason the atmosphere you get from this album is so good is largely in part from this guy. Take the time to appreciate this guy’s vocal work; it’s one of the highlights of this album.

So a kickass new vocalist, more folk influences, what will Erik Ravn think of next? Well let’s say the guitar playing is just perfect here. In “To Travel” we heard a much stronger and neoclassical sound but unfortunately it was a little too over the top. In here it’s just right, not too prominent yet still jaw-dropping amazing. Bad Hobbits Die Hard is a funny tongue-in-cheek name for a song but damn it’s a good instrumental. The riffs and solos here are mad insane. Just give a listen to the guitar part and solo in “Highlands Winds.” After that please take a moment of your time to drool over the Earth-shattering riff about a minute into “Longing for the Woods Part III.” Let’s not forget to mention the production is clear as can be? Enjoy the riffs without any fuzz courtesy of your good friends in Wuthering Heights.

I’ll once again take time to mention the lyrics. My stance stays that Erik Ravn is a lyrical genius. The inspiring lines found in “The Road Goes Ever On,” The haunting verses found in the Longing for the Woods trilogy move you and those fans of other Wuthering Heights releases should squeeze a grin to “Land of Olden Glory.” Must I go on?

In conclusion, this is an album not to be missed. It doesn’t matter who you are, you should immediately go and seek this album out. It just makes me sick everyone is getting off to the crap that’s released these days that tries to call itself metal when bands like Wuthering Heights and albums like Far From the Madding Crowd go largely unnoticed. When someone doesn’t enjoy an album like this, there is nothing wrong with him. It’s not that people who don’t like this album are retarded or have any hearing problems; it’s just that they’re subhuman. They are not capable of feeling the glorious music that resonates and are thus beneath normal human beings.

I was recommended this band through my enjoyment of the new Cruachan, someone comparing it and using terms like "this is much better". Well, I took the bait and suffered for it. I assume by "this is much better", he really meant to say "this is much lamer".

Sounding like a cross between 50 Cent and Russell Allen after a trip to the dentist, the vocalist manages to annoy the hell out of me to an extent never before reached. He bounces through every song with the most godawful fake accent I've ever witnessed, trying his damnedest to mimic the one used by Warwick Davis on the epic "Leprechaun" movies. The combination of fake accent and retarded slur made everything that came out of this guy's mouth absolutely indecipherable and extremely annoying.

Musically, this rubs me in much the same way as the new Elvenking. Same type of synthetic "folk" sound, relying almost entirely on keyboards rather than violins, flutes and other actual instruments. The guitarwork is very melodeath, constantly reminding me of Dark Tranquillity, up until the obligatory "folk melody" lead or acoustic/faux folk piece. In fact, this follows a very steady pattern within nearly every song:

Moderately fast melodeath guitars, folky lead+chorus, crappy acoustic part, solo, folky lead+chorus.

The folk pieces specifically are very poorly done, sounding like they were heavily influenced by the scores to Willow or the Lord of the Rings movies. I assume they were going for a "Celtic" sound, but a good portion of it comes across as nothing other than bluegrass, with the rest falling under the heading of "generic power metal synth lameness". Of course, as per standard, there's a fair share of synth solos and synths following guitar leads, both of which I despise.

This album is the height of predictability, managing to fit the generic mold of modern "power/folk" bands, and having no originality whatsoever. This type of sterile garbage is an atrocious misrepresentation of real folk and it's recording should not be encouraged. I found myself constantly annoyed by the sheer level of genericness found on this, and when combined with the poorly performed acoustic pieces and obnoxious vocals, it truly was maddening.

Wuthering Heights is a fairly new band in my metal catalog. The 2002 sophomore album from these Danish folk-prog-power metallers, TO TRAVEL FOR EVERMORE really caught my ear when I finally got to hear it several months back. Impressed by that second effort, I quickly acquired the band’s third and newest release FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD.

“Gather Ye Wild,” my friends; the bagpipes and folky guitar lead carry the album forward into “The Road Goes Ever On.” I’ll admit it, the first thing I thought of when I read the title was the animated version of THE HOBBIT and Glenn Yarborough’s version of “Roads Go Ever Ever On.” The song builds beautifully from the impressive vocal display, with flute and symphonic strings building into the catchiest song on the album, tearing into some furious speedy power metal. Oh, yeah! Leads and solos abound throughout the nearly 8-minutes of this song. Erik Ravn and Henrik Flyman fill the album with lots of galloping power metal riffs, neo-classical leads, as well as folk and progressive themes. There is no shredding wankery here; the guitars are all focused and well-written individual compositions. I love how Wuthering Heights runs the folk melody through the main theme of the song not just here, but throughout every song on the album.

The first thing on this album that jumps out and grabs me are the vocals. Gone is ex-Tad Morose frontman Kristian Andrén, replaced by Nils Patrik Johansson, who has sung in two bands unknown to me, Astral Doors and Space Odyssey. So long, Kristian, although I cannot complain about your vocals at all, it is obvious that Nils Patrik Johansson is the wave of the future. Damn, does this guy have a set of pipes! Nils is able to belt out some mean lines with power comparable to guys like Dio and Harry “Tyrant” Conklin with a voice that, to me at least, sounds like somewhat of a cross between Russell Allen and Martin Walkyier. Perhaps it’s just the prog-folk blend of the music that pushes my mind towards that analogy, but in any case, Nils’ vocals are clean and commanding yet still carry an aggressive edge.

“Tree,” despite it’s short and bland title is an interesting song that carries throughout it a feeling much like the slower, folkier songs from Falconer’s second album that builds up strength into a more traditional power metal approach the last minute absolutely EXPLODES for a brief, although brilliant bout of speed metal. Nice use of the epic choral lines around the 3:24 mark.

The masterpiece of the album is the trilogy “Longing for the Woods” which is separated into three free-standing tracks, the powerful galloping “The Wild Children,” concluding with a minstrel-type flair, “The Ring of Fire,” with its intense leads, and “Herne’s Prophecy,” which features some bombastic symphonic choral elements. Each part of the trilogy is separated by several other tracks, which is quite an interesting way to deliver an epic. In between parts II and III of “Longing for the Woods” is a cover of a folk song titled “The Bollard,” a melancholic and beautiful piece accented with soft strings, whistle, and flute. Continuing the Celtic theme of the album, this little track is a break in the action that fits perfectly among the power metal of the rest of the album. As if to offset “The Bollard” is the instrumental, “Bad Hobbits Die Hard,” which, despite it’s absolutely awful title is an excellent instrumental. The shred here is intense as Erik and Henrik are allowed free reign with keyboardist Rune Brink jumping in with his equally fantastic input to the duel. As the album comes to an end, “Land of Olden Glory” gives us a symphonic track that reminds me slightly of a Rhapsody composition before “Lament for Lórien” which, just as the title suggests, would find a worthy place in Middle Earth fitting well with the Lady Galadriel’s fair kingdom.

With the release of FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD, 2004 is off to a great start for power metal. Although I never cared much for the works of novelist Emily Bronte (from which Wuthering Heights draws their name), and I absolutely despise Thomas Hardy (from whom the album draws its title) as one of the worst novelists in the English language, this album is certain to set Wuthering Heights at the forefront of both the folk and power metal genres. With their excellent use of progressive, folk, and power elements, the members of Wuthering Heights have demonstrated their ability to deliver a fresh and original sound that sets them apart from countless other power metal bands. While fans of bands such as Falconer, Skyclad, Elvenking, and Symphony X will especially like Wuthering Heights, FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD is the album that is not to be missed by anyone!

(originally written for www.metal-rules.com)

This album was a welcome gust of fresh air in a world full of Rhapsody, Hammerfall, and Gamma Ray clones. With [i]Far From the Madding Crowd[/i], Wuthering Heights have really pulled their crap together compared to their previous albums, succeeding with their mix of folkish melodies and passionate power metal. Without a doubt, this is in part due to the powerful vocalwork of Nils. If you like your power metal vocals to be delivered with balls instead of "balls in a vice", Nils won't disappoint. Now, on to the songs (I don't think it's necessary to describe every one of them, so I'll comment on a sampling).

After the obligatory intro theme, we have "The Road Goes Ever On". And, what an excellent starter track it is! Fast, powerful, uplifting, and all of those other redundant adjectives that describe how good power metal should turn out come to mind. The solos add to the emotional impact without devolving into pointless wankfest.

The pace slows down with "Tree", but definitely not the quality. Following this, we have the first part of the obvious centerpiece of the album - "Longing for the Woods". Without using a pile of cliche'd and over-used adjectives, the best way I can describe this is as a "shivers down your spine" track. There are three parts to "Longing...", and the first one ("The Wild Children") would have to be my personal favorite. The song progresses to a folksy section in the middle which then bursts out into the very powerful chorus. Well done and majestic.

"Land of Olden Glory" is another great track on this album. However, since I'll get redundant listing off tracks and saying "Whoa, powerful", I think it's time to move on to the weak spots for the sake of Truth in Advertising. Without a doubt, those are the ballads. "The Bollard" is so-so, but I'm sure they can do much better than this. "Lament for Lorien" strikes as a typical filler track. In my opinion, "Land of Olden Glory" would have been a good track to end with, since I, for one, am going to be hitting the power button after that track anyway.

To sum it up, if you're a fan of bands such as Blind Guardian, you really can't go wrong buying this CD. The strong points more than make up for the weak spots and it's a pity that this band gets less recognition than many Rhapsody clones of the month. Nope, this is no "flower metal" album. All in all, this release was a good kick off the beginning of 2004.

There is something bad and something good, in modern power metal: The bad thing is that the genre is, at the time, all but new (how many years had passed since Helloween released their first Keeper? Do anyone remember when Kai Hansen had hair on the top of his head?), and so the classic song with the fast guitars here and there, the double bass and the high pitched singer had been seen so many times before that it's hard to find anything new in the genre. The good thing is that after all that time, modern power metal bands have a lot of work done about what sounds good, what sounds bad, and how albums could and should sound.

To skip the bad thing, Wuthering Heights run through the realms of folk music (even when that either isn't so original, at the time), as they loudly proclaim from the intro itself, wich is a version of the everybody's known song Amazing Grace. They also use some flutes, bagpipes, violins and even banjos in some places of the songs, and use some changing and diverse melodies, folky inspired, that manage to make every solo a handful of well engaded jewels. But the pass though the folk realm isn't something really deep, but just a tool to make the music fresh and different from the classical stuff of the genre... and it works, spicing the music, valuting it, giving a unique flavour that at times remember Falconer's first album, in a faster and brighter shape, but never being so main to take the same level than the guitars, absolute stars of the music. About the second point, these guys realy took note of how power metal must be: They sound very well, to the point that they could stare face to face with any of the old bands in the genre. It isn't very serious music (well, there had been some very serious albums like Gamma Ray's Land of the Free, but mainly how can it be serious if the icon of one of the most classical power bands is a smiling pumpkin!?), but they don't seem to be pretending to be very serious naming instrumental songs Bad Hobbits Die Hard... so if you aren't expecting a metaphysical album about the mind and the existential pain of the soul, but you look for something funny to headbang and listen taking some beers, something with lyrics about elfs and woods, fast solos, choruses and good leads, then you will enjoy Far From the Madding Crowd for sure. So, to conclude, Wuthering Heights seems to be very comfortable in a realm that, appart from the classical elements of this music, covers lands between Rhapsody's best wishes and Falconer's tries, without sounding so cheesie as the first and sounding faster and louder than the second.

Now listening to it song by song, the first track, as stated above, is an introduction that uses the melody of Amazing Grace to launch the second track, The Road Goes On and On, that starts and ends with an echoed lead that reminds me Running Wild in their Blazon Stone times. The song goes fast and shining, giving shelter to some nice melodies in the solo.

The next track, Tree, stars somewhat slower, like some kind of hymn that few seconds before minute 2 fastens, to make room for a beautiful lead in the style of the opening one of the previous song. The solo is beautiful and have space to shelter some brief wo-o-oh choruses that must be something funny for the crowd to sing along in a live show (specialy if they make them last a bit more).

Then, with the fourth track, we get the first part of the trilogy Longing for the Woods, the core of the album. There in the songs we get again some vocal lines that seem designed to make people be happy in a show. About minute four everything turns folky as hell when a banjo and a violin takes the song, underlined by a double bass drums, making one of the weirdest (and coolest) parts of the whole album.

Highland Winds starts with a flute and a very mice drum that breaks into a slow passage... but it isn't time for the ballad, yet. This is a slower song, anyway, that speeds up for the solows and down for the choruses. At the fourth minute some rhytm shots make room for a(nother) beautiful solo. The song have a false sudden ending, just to continue with one of those fading endings, with guitars playing alternative leads at left and right.

Track six holds the second part of the Woods' trilogy, The Ring of Fire, and starts majestic and fast. It have a very classical solo (in the way that it sounds like coming from one of those typical heavenly skilled guitars and also because Mozard would surely had liked things like that for sure). When it ends the song changes totally the path, leaving keyboards draw a quiet zone from where to start with the lyrics again. It all explodes in the fifth minute, when the song returns to the leading speedy riffs and chorus.

The next song is more peaceful once again (they interlace fast and not-so-fast songs surely to bring some contrast to the music: old tricks use to be the best ones), makes you think that it could had been named The Bard's Song - Whatever, if this were another album by another band... There are flutes all along, and it's a beautiful song that slows all down, to make the eight song, the instrumental of the wonderful title above mentioned: Bad Hobbits Die Hard. This one is a lovely fast song that makes me think on Blind Guardian's Beyond The Ice, because it have the same speed in a melodic and happier aproach.

Then, after that funny and fast interlude, Hernes Prophecy comes as the hightlight of the album and the ending part of the trilogy. It's for me the best song in the album. It opens with some keyboards (to leave some break with the bad hobbit's theme) that soon are followed by guitars and drums. All goes up and up, and the song mixes melodies and that already were heard in the previous parts of the Longing for the Woods story. The chorus reminds me of Rhapsody, as some others before (but without sounding so forced) and some keyboards details sound like things I had heard to Children of Bodom (in the way it drops a note to focus the attention into the guitars). The solo is the best one of the whole album, long, variated and with realy great melodies embeded on it, that use to be repeated and played with a slow speed the first time, just to release the drums later and do it all again at full speed, and the trick works perfectly. After that the song follows the usual pattern, in its search for an ending: A bit more lyrics, one chorus, and an ending that again have something attached after it, a melodic epilogue.

After that one, Land of Olden Glory is a very variated and nice song, with a pace that goes changing through the song... and Laments of Lorien is the ballad they could had perfectly skipped or place somewhere else in the album, to bring it a faster ending (in fact it makes me play again Bad Hobbits Die Hard again at the end of the album).

So, to end this review, this is a very good album that makes one think that this style have proud young bands to keep it going on without having to keep buying the same Gamma Ray stuff again and again and again. A band to keep in mind for the future.