EGOIST — Dead Egg (review)

Album · 2007 · Progressive Metal

3.5/5 · 2011-09-04
UMUR

"Dead Egg" is the debut full-length studio album by polish progressive/ experimental metal act Egoist. Egoist is a one-man project by Stanislaw Wolonciej who plays all instruments and sings all vocals on the album. Stanislaw Wolonciej also plays drums in NewBreed and Angerpath. Both bands also feature his brother Tomasz Wolonciej. "Dead Egg" is produced by Stanislaw Wolonciej himself.

"Dead Egg" was to have been released in 2007, but because Magik Art Entertainment broke their contract with Stanislaw Wolonciej, the album has never seen an official release. I therefore contacted Stanislaw to get his permission to download and review "Dead Egg" and here´s what he said. I have copied/ pasted his answer here so this is a direct quote: "hi there, and thanks for being interested:). You know, the guy from Magik Art Ent. who seemed to release this stuff, just broke the contract, so any kind of downloading from the web is not illegal;). So, if you want to review dead egg, just download this stuff;). And it's OK from me. thanks and all the best, stan". So I would like to take the opportunity to thank Stanislaw for giving me the opportunity to review his album.

The music on the album is pretty innovative progressive/ experimental metal. There´s something about Stanislaw´s one-man army approach that reminds me of Devin Townsend but there´s more to Egoist than that. So don´t expect a Devin Townsend clone. I also hear a slight Meshuggah influence in the complex heavy riffing which is also a big part of the sound on the album. Stanislaw masters all instruments on an impressive level. I was actually quite surprised that he is first and foremost a drummer because his guitar playing is very impressive (his drumming is impeccable too of course). Lots of original runs and excellent ideas in his playing. Just listen to the beginning of "With Eyes Full of Colors". What a great twisted theme. The music is complex and intriguing throughout the album culminating in the impressive 13:46 minutes long instrumental closer "Flora". Lots of guitar solos grace the album and really strong solos they are. The vocals are one of the weaker links in the chain and while I find them acceptable I don´t find them really good. A bit too monotone to my ears. The songs are well composed but sometimes there are parts that don´t seem connected to the rest of the song that they appear in and that is a slight weakness too. Overall this is a very interesting album though and quite the achivement for one man.

The production is pretty good allthough there are weaknesses like the vocal sound which is not always to my taste. When they are effect laden they are best IMO. But Stanislaw´s vocals sound a bit restrained and weak when they don´t rely on vocal effects. It´s not a major problem when the instrumental side of the album is so strong but it is a minor weakness.

"Dead Egg" is a strong album by Egoist and it´s a real shame that it hasn´t seen an official release yet because I´m sure that many people would enjoy the material on the album. There are still some things that need to be improved but a 3 - 3.5 star rating is deserved. A very fresh and inspired album IMO.