Darkwater - Calling The Earth To Witness

Published May 26 2007

*=Staff's pick	2534167 (Intro) All Eyes On Me* Again* Habit* The Play - I The Play - II Shattered Tallest Tree* In My Dreams

Genre	Progressive Metal	Henrik Båth	Vocals
Tracks	9	Henrik Båth	Guitar
Runningtime	68 Min.	Markus Sigfridsson	Guitar
Label	Ulterium Records	Karl Wassholm	Bass
Release	28 May 2007	Tobias Enbert	Drums
Country	Sweden	Magnus Holmberg	Keyboard
Similar artists	Evergrey, Dream Theater, Symphony X

Darkwater was formed late 2003 in the western parts of Sweden. After a couple of years of writing material and performing a few selected shows they entered the studio in summer 2006 to record their first album. The album was recorded in different studios to reach the highest result as possible and together with a splendid mix this has left us with a top notch production with a crystal clear, dynamic and heavy sound.

Even if 4/5 of Darkwater already has released one album in the shape of the melodic metal outfit Harmony it's an impressive achievement they've made considering it's their debut with Darkwater. When listening to Calling The Earth To Witness you get the impression that they've done nothing but playing progressive melodic metal the last ten years or so. This is extremely well executed, balanced and effective song writing with a most satisfying production. The only thing this album lacks is maybe an own identity since the influences shine through quite clearly. I would like to describe them as the progressive cousin to Evergrey as you can sense a lot of bands like Dream Theater and Symphony X in Darkwater's music as well.

At first I wasn't that impressed of what Darkwater had to offer but for every listening session I've had with Calling The Earth To Witness my interest has escalated. By now I have listened to the record at least ten times and I rank it as one of the best progressive metal releases this year. Songs like the melodic Again, the progressive monster Habit and the dynamic and outstanding Tallest Tree really is what makes this record special. Another aspect is the splendid musicianship; tight as hell and a superb vocalist in the shape of Henrik Båth, just listen to his delivery in The Play - I and you will know what I'm talking about.

Those of you who are into the progressive metal genre and can look beyond the lack of an own identity, this must be considered as a must buy. Since this is only their first release I'm sure they will develop their own sound along the way and I predict a bright future for Darkwater.

Performance	Originality	Production	Vocals	Songwriting
8	5	9	8	8

Summary
8 chalices of 10 - Hawk