Waterclime - The Astral Factor

*=Staff's pick	Mountains* Floating The Astral Factor* Diamond Moon Painting Without Colours* Midnight Flyer Scarytale Timewind*

Genre	Prog./Symph. Rock	Andreas Hedlund	Vocals
Tracks	8	Andreas Hedlund	Guitar
Runningtime	43 Min.	-	Guitar
Label	Lion Music	Andreas Hedlund	Bass
Release	20 Jan 2006	Andreas Hedlund	Drums
Country	Sweden	Andreas Hedlund	Keyboards
Similar artists	Kaipa, Yes

Vintersorg, or Andreas Hedlund as his real name is, has made himself known through his works in bands like Vintersorg, Otyg, Fission or perhaps mostly (at least to me) with Borknagar, just to mention a few of the bands he has been involved in. But you can forget all about those bands now, because this is completely different. With his solo project Waterclime the music is heading in a new direction and with a soft touch he delivers a mix of progressive and symphonic rock. Apart from a couple of guitar leads from Mattias Marklund (Vintersorg) and Magnus Lindgren's (Black Bonzo) guitar in the song Mountains, he handles all the instruments himself.

The songs are laid back and very melodic as the album has a soft progressive touch to it. With lush melodies and influences from nordic folk tones he has created an interesting album and combined with the use of instruments such as mellotron, organ and flute it provides a subtle spaced out touch as well as it gives some depth to the music. The album is more symphonic than what it is heavy and bands like The Flower Kings, Yes and Uriah Heep comes closer in comparison than do the other bands he has been involved in. Mountains start the album in an up-tempo and melodic manor with folk inspired leads in a playful way, and with the many layers in the music this one stands out as my favourite on the album. In Midnight Flyer you get a more rocking tune where the Hammond organ puts a groove into the songs, while in Scarytale he goes for a more jazzy vibe with the music.

No matter of the musical differences in the things that I have heard of what he previously has done, there is something that combines it all. Might it be his voice but there is also a certain feeling that reflects in his music. I can't really put my finger on it but independent of style and genre there is somewhat of a similar ambience, something that can be found also here on The Astral Factor. Even if the album doesn't contain anything astonishing or any groundbreaking songs, it has a nice mixture and not least it feels genuine and sincere, making listening to it feel well worthwhile.

See also review of: Epic , Crater
See also: Song By Song Commentary

Production	Vocals	Compositions
6	7	7

Summary
7 chalices of 10 - Thomas