UMUR
"Ultra-Selfish Revolution" is the 2nd full-length studio album by progressive/groove metal act Egoist. The album was released through Selfmadegod Records in March 2009. Egoist is a one-man project formed by Stanislaw Wolonciej in 2006 (Wolonciej is also the drummer in NewBreed and Angerpath). Wolonciej had quite a few issues releasing his debut full-length studio album "Dead Egg (2007)", as the label (Magik Art Entertainment) he had a deal with broke the contract, so the album was never officially released. There are copies available for download on the internet, and according to Wolonciej it´s not illegal to download them. As the case was on the debut album Wolonciej performs all instruments and vocals on "Ultra-Selfish Revolution", except a couple of guest guitar solos by Patrick Mameli (Pestilence).
Stylistically the material on "Ultra-Selfish Revolution" continues the progressive groove laden and heavy metal style of "Dead Egg (2007)". I hear a strong Meshuggah influence in the heavy odd-metered riffs and rhythms, but there is a dominant atmospheric element in the music too (atmopsheric guitars and synths add that element). The vocals aren´t harsh, and often remind me of the unorthodox clean vocals in Voivod. Wolonciej doesn´t have the most distinct sounding voice, but his delivery has improved a lot since the debut, where the vocals were definitely the weak link in the music. Here they aren´t extraordinary, but they aren´t weak either.
The musicianship is strong and it´s not audible that Wolonciej is predominantly a drummer. He is a very capable multi-instrumentalist. "Ultra-Selfish Revolution" features a well sounding and powerful production, which suits the material on the 8 track, 42:14 minutes long album perfectly. Upon conclusion it´s a step up in professionalism, delivery, and songwriting compared to the debut album. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.
