Witherfall - A Prelude To Sorrow (Japanese Edition) (2018)

Henry Miller wrote “Life moves on, whether we act as cowards or heroes. Life has no other discipline to impose, if we would but realize it, than to accept life unquestioningly. Everything we shut our eyes to, everything we run away from, everything we deny, denigrate or despise, serves to defeat us in the end. What seems nasty, painful, evil, can become a source of beauty, joy, and strength, if faced with an open mind. Every moment is a golden one for him who has the vision to recognize it as such.” The musicians in Witherfall are masters of the art of creating emotive music. Their latest album A Prelude to Sorrow uses the superpower of music to turn their rage and loss due to the death of a friend, into a musical masterpiece.

Witherfall’s core and primary music visionaries are vocalist Joseph Michael and guitarist Jake Dreyer. Joining them in crafting the vicious beauty of A Prelude to Sorrow is bassist Anthony Crawford, guitarist Fili Bibiano, and drummer Steve Bolognese. The album reflects the vivid pain and anger felt by Jake and Joseph as they watched their friend and former Witherfall drummer Adam Paul Sagan fall prey to cancer. The title of A Prelude to Sorrow is in tribute to Adam’s name.

Witherfall uses the term “Dark Melodic metal” to describe their sound and this is a fitting description. Power metal tends to be heroic sounding which does not apply here. The term neo-classical while giving some sense of the musical direction, doesn’t capture the distress and rage present within this album. I find Witherfall to be in a class of their own. Not since Nevermore, has a band brilliantly combined technical heaviness and razor-edged clean vocals into a snarling maelstrom of metal music.

The somber opening of the title track “A Prelude To Sorrow” casts an air of sadness which is torn apart by the vital rage and fear of “We Are Nothing”. This song is epic in both musical performance and lyrical content. The opening heavy attack of this song accentuates the feelings of betrayal and anger. One of the many great lines in this album is a verse from the chorus “We are nothing. Our souls are just flickering lights, to be extinguished, snuffed out by the cold hands of time.” The stark reality that our death and life are nothing but a flash in time strikes hard, particularly with the vicious delivery by Michael.

What I love about this album beyond the magnificent guitar and bass riffs, enthralling vocals, and pyrotechnic drums, is the way this album has caused me to think and reflect. Songs like “Communion Of The Wicked” and “Shadows” not only conjure mental imagery related to the topics of death and loss, they create a vehicle for you to consider your own mortality. I found myself drawn in by the concept of fleeting time in “Ode To Despair” and hopeful courage to face your death with honor on the song “Vintage”. This hope is captured beautifully in the final soaring verse “This is not the end. You’ll always be by my side, when I feel like I can’t go on anymore.”

This is an album that can be listened to on a song by song basis. However, it is best enjoyed as a complete work. The songs guide you through the progression of emotions and circumstances that chronicle the dark voyage of those who witnessed the passing of their friend Adam Paul Sagan. ‘A Prelude To Sorrow’ provides the listener a cathartic release through some of the most mesmerizing music I have ever heard. The savage brilliance of this album is stunning.

A Prelude to Sorrow by Witherfall explores the depths of sadness, pain, and sufferance of death. The soundscapes created by the band expose the emotional responses they endured when they lost their friend and drummer Adam Paul Sagan. Beautifully brutal riffs are woven into a lush fabric of music. A Prelude to Sorrow is a vibrant, intoxicating, and powerful listening experience. Witherfall takes you on a though provoking journey into darkness using music to light your way.
~ review by Chuck Marshall



Track List:
01. A Prelude to Sorrow [00:01:26]
02. We Are Nothing [00:11:12]
03. Moment of Silence [00:06:54]
04. Communion of the Wicked [00:06:40]
05. Maridian's Visitation [00:03:14]
06. Shadows [00:07:08]
07. Ode to Despair [00:03:49]
08. The Call [00:02:10]
09. Vintage [00:11:05]
10. Epilogue [00:02:47]
11. A Tale That Wasn’t Right (Bonus Track) [00:05:20]
12. I Won’t Back Down (Bonus Track) [00:04:11]



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