Wilderun - Epigone
Release: January 7th, 2022
Massachusetts, USA
„“No live organism can continue for long to exist sanely under conditions of absolute reality.” “
Some might say escapism is a bad thing. Some (me) might answer in return, how ill-considered that argument is. Ingrained in the human condition, sowed in virtue of life’s futility and reaped regardless, fiction is, at least in existential terms, the total defiance of life itself. If Camus wants us to imagine Sisyphus happy in spite of his damnation, the creation of art in spite of the insignificance of our shared existence is to me the ultimate form of rebellion.
„“The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.”“
So, judging by my overly pregnant and philosophical introduction, labeling Wilderun as masterminds of escapism, is the highest praise I can sing. “Epigone” is no exception to that, although it took some convincing for me to even consider it a worthy successor to “Veil of Imagination”, an album that - as you might know by now - is flawless and unique in every single way.
The quartet from Boston, Massachusetts has somewhat become the Golden Goose of modern metal, with a streak of incredible album after album. Their fine-tuned, orchestral approach to a blend of symphonic, progressive, death and folk metal continues to impress me. Yet have I found a band that writes melodies so beautiful, riffs so varied and orchestration so tasteful, all while composing transitions and grandiose epic tales so consistently great. With the band’s foray into electronic, ambient and sound design elements, “Epigone” is even more focused and cohesive, despite a myriad of sounds and instrumentation layered upon and playing off each other.
But most importantly, like any other Wilderun album “Epigone” is complete. A fantastical tale, more than a figment, almost a vision, very much the total and welcomed absence of reality. And by that definition, it is perfect.
„“To read fiction means to play a game by which we give sense to the immensity of things that happened, are happening, or will happen in the actual world.”“