Dope-Life

© 2001 Sony Music

The Wake-Ode To My Misery

         © 2003 Spikefarm Records

After becoming a late-comer to this band by jumping in on the 'Group Therapy' I backtracked a bit and checked out some of the bands earlier material. 'Life' would be another favorite of mine. The music is infectious and unrelenting at the same time. Good heavy stuff that draws on various influences. This album after listening to the bands earlier effort 'Felons and Revolutionaries' and the later 'Group Therapy', gives you the progression of the bands style between those two mentioned albums. You can see where they were headed and definitely where they had been. While 'Felons' is a good album, this is where I really dig the band is from this album on. While the earlier album was heavy and dark, this one is heavy and a bit more upbeat which adds to the catchiness. Some of the tracks I think people would dig the most include 'Take Your Best Shot', 'Die MF Die', my favorite 'Move It' which reminds me a bit of Rob Zombie, and 'March of Hope' and which also has a Zombie flair to it. These are highlights, but I think for most fans, you can spin this disc from start to finish without getting aggressive on the fast forward button. This apparently was the last release for Sony as the band now is on Recon records. You can still get this album and I definitely think it has some crossover potential to attract classic hard rock fans as well as the new breed.

Overall

I think the review pretty well sums it up. I dig this album alot and think it has appeal to alot of others. Good heavy guitars with a bit of a Zombie vibe here and there. If you are new to this band, this is a great way to get your feet wet. I was a little late, but am definitely hooked. Very catchy and infectious!

The Wake are another band released via the Spinefarm Labels. They play it as hard and heavy as the rest of the roster. The band has a great power metal sound with some decent precision shown in places. Vocally, they are as aggressive as other labelmates such as Kalmah or Children of Bodom. The music would tend to lean a little more to the sound of maybe somebody like Tarot, but not totally. In a nutshell, if you like it heavy and pissed off, this one's for you. You kind of get a feel for what you are gonna get with some labels and Spinefarm is pretty dang consistent. I also get a kick out of some of the titles like the album title. 'Ode To My Misery'. Little bit dark an ominous throughout the album. Seems to be alot of that in the Finnish metal scene, but it's all good. Some of the tunes that caught my attention include 'Murder One' with it's tight bursting rhythms in areas, 'Souls Encounter' which is catchy in it's own way, 'Deep Silent Dead' has a fair amount of depth and visial characteristic which made me like it. Kind of odd to get heavy and depth in the same description, but it has it. 'Like a Fallen Angel' is cool due to some great sounding guitar work. Overall, the material is pretty good. Nothing stands out as innovative, but it gets the job done. Another good addition to a great metal scene.

Overall

A decent record from a decent band. Vocals are fairly aggressive which won't appeak to everyone, but they grew on me. Never been a huge fan of that vocal style, but the music carries and makes it more accessible to fans. As mentioned, nothing very innovative, but the band knows what the fanbase wants and delivers it well. Good guitar workings and songwriting. Worth a listen for sure.

For more info: The Wake Official Website