THE WOUNDED: Atlantic

Cover Musicians
THE WOUNDED: Atlantic

Marco van der Velde: guitars, vocals
Sander Wessels: guitar
 Andy Haandrikman: bass
Eduard Dresscher: keyboards
 Alwin Schnoing: drums
Release Label Cat. N° Playing Time Rating
2004 Ebony Tears/Suburban ET003 50’12’’ 9/10
Website Contact Style
www.rockfeinstein.com   Progressive Rock
Choice Of The Month June 2004
Review by
Vera "Gothica"
The two previous albums of The Wounded ‘The Art Of Grief’ (2000) and ‘Monument’ (2002) were already not to disdain but what the Dutch band offers us on ‘Atlantic’ deserves worldwide recognition. That explains my choice of the month June. In a different line-up, only singer/guitarist Marco van der Velde and bass player Andy Haandrikman remained, they started with the recordings of their third album ‘Atlantic’ in April 2003. After almost a year of intense work in Frankys Recording Kitchen, The Wounded released a mature and fantastic album that makes you instantly search for the repeat button after the first time listening.

They describe their music themselves as a mixture of the experiments of early Pink Floyd, the atmosphere of Anathema, Marillion, The Cure, Fields Of The Nephilim and more recently Sigur Ros and Placebo. Above all The Wounded has an own sound that evolves and is perfected album after album.

When we scout ‘Atlantic’ track to track, the length of some of the songs draws immediately our attention. Three of them last easily for seven, eight and ten minutes and are indeed musical expeditions through a world of fragility, vulnerability and traumas. For when one thing is the centre of their lyrics, it is an everlasting melancholy. The music is the perfect help to get you in that mood. Listening to ‘Atlantic’ is burrow in open wounds and languishing lick them as a compensation for so much grief.

That begins with ‘Hollow World’ that, when I heard it for the first time, made me buy this album. A hankering voice, a wall of guitars and a smooth guitar melody reign this composition which has also a catchy chorus. The slogan ‘Anathema meets Katatonia’ in the press makes sense. For after hearing ‘Atlantic’ I suddenly got the need to play ‘Viva Emptiness’ of Katatonia again. And you know enough then for this was my album of the year in 2003. In ’18 Carat Dust’ we dig even a little deeper in emotions. A semblance of The Cure and Marco’s voice reminds me here of D.E. Edwards of 16 Horsepower. With Katatonia they’ve got in common their strong and mostly compact songs that are vocal-based and the low-tuned guitars bringing in some power. As from the fifth track we arrive at the epic tracks. ‘Northern Lights’ opens with mundane drums, a slightly rocking guitar and vocals reminiscent to John Watts of Fischer Z this time. And now my apologies to Marco for always comparing him with others, but let me make myself clear that the copy factor on this album is 0% and that The Wounded has an own sound! Lots of strings behind him in this song, so it became a slow epic track.

After a short, spatial prelude which sets the tone, the band dares to cover the classic Nirwana track ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ and damned, it is bloody well. With shivering guitars, clear vocals and a slower tempo than the original. ‘We are darker’ starts very melodic with hovering guitar work. This ode to the darkness and blackened pessimism sounds almost light to make it relativistic. For it’s all about conquering your inner demons. The song has a break halfway with spoken fragments, heavy keys and fluting birds. Cracker of ‘Atlantic’ is the ten minutes long title-track. Here the experimental Pink Floyd influences come to the surface. The distorted voice is gloomy nice. Perfect intonation and working towards a climax make this track a breath-taking adventure. This talent cannot pass unnoticed! On the 26th of June they are supporting Anathema in De Lantaarn in Hellendoorn (NL).
 
Tracklist

  1. Hollow World (5’55’’)

  2. 18. Carat Dust (4’15’’)

  3. Running on empty (4’17’’)

  4. Day of Joy (3’49’’)

  5. Northern Lights (7’29’’)

  6. Prelude (1’42’’)

  7. Smells like teen spirit (4’09’’)

  8. We are darker (8’36’’)

  9. Atlantic (10’01’’)

Website in order to promote progressive rock to a broader audience in Flanders but also in the entire world. No part from this website may be used in any other publication whether in print or on the world wide web without the editor's consent - all material is exclusive to Prog-Nose and copyright protected.

Last updated: 02 juni 2004 .
All rights reserved. Copyright © Prog-Nose 30/05/2001.