WINDRIDER – To New Lands CD review

WINDRIDER – To New Lands CD
Self Released

I’m still waiting to hear a one man symphonic metal act with female in a prom dress operatic vocals. I’m sure one exists out there, in Berlin perhaps, but I don’t frequent such bars. This one man (child prodigy?) folk metal act from the UK will have to suffice. I say child prodigy since this guy Elliot Vernon is twenty years old but his musical compositions sound like something created by someone with more than just peach fuzz for facial hair. After a few listens to this I’m thinking sure it’s good but it would sound better if an actual band was performing it. While listening to the opener “To New Lands” (Prelude) I was thinking this is not a song but an opening to a movie. All that was missing were the credits. After three minutes of epic rousing keyboards and drums, then electronic bird sounds with a background synth melody, it then gives way to water breaking upon a shoreline with some guy with a deep voice talking about new lands.

Wait a minute is this FAIRYLAND or the MOODY BLUES? Either way it bleeds into the title cut, part one. This is heavily keyboard driven power metal with Viking/Folk motifs. The over nine minute title cut does get boring by the halfway point even after Vernon adds his just passed puberty wannabe Nordic vocals which are as gruff as he can get. The third cut “The King Under the Mountain” opens with a synth imitating an accordion then the in studio choir effects to finally give us a TYR quality folk tale. Once again this could be a better song if you had a band performing it adding meaty riffs and more powerful drumming. Vernon performs everything in studio but supposedly he now has a live band where he does the vocals and guitar with a session bass and drummer. I’ll guess and say he has programmed keyboards for the live performances. Don’t you just love it when those things fuck up during a show because of amateurish sound checking?

There are seven tracks total on here and a few are long boring epic keyboard driven indulgence like “There is no Victory” which after nine and a half minutes had me thinking is there no let up? “Seven Fathers of Iron and Stone” should be handed over to FALKENBACH to record. In fact I think Elliot Vernon is a great composer who needs to hand over his songs to other bands to perform or write film scores. I think fantasy movies are in vogue again. Look no offense but I just can’t get into this to the point where I should. Instead of Vikings on a longboat singing about wind in their sails I keep picturing Vernon with a mini synth and a laptop singing while wearing a plastic Viking helmet for inspiration. After over thirteen minutes of the final track “To New Lands” part 2, I’m ready to hail Thorazine and say good night. Get a band and record together next time.

www.myspace.com/windridermetal