REVIEW: Lost In Grey – The Waste Land

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Finnish theatrical metal act LOST IN GREY from Hyvinkää are finally ready to release their sophomore album “The Waste Land” on January 11th, 2019, through Reaper Entertainment. The band, inspired by symphonic and folk metal, literature and the world, have so far created a unique genre, which is combined with elements of drama. On “The Waste Land,” the band dives into themes that lead to the story of their debut album, The Grey Realms, released in 2017.

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With atmospheric and theatrical songs like “Expectations,” “Wolves Among Men,” and “Drifting In The Universe,” it’s easy to understand why LOST IN GREY’s “The Waste Land” is an album that needs to be on your heavy metal shelf and serves as a outstanding follow-up for their debut album, “The Grey Realms.” The versatility in the album is incredible and it’s clear that this is not just another symphonic metal band. There are very refreshing elements and ideas in this album.

The title track kicks off the album and it does so in a very powerful way. No sweeping atmospheric introductions needed, the song blasts you away instantly, and is perhaps the most energetic song on the album. An interesting choice as an opening song, but it serves its purpose perfectly. The song is followed by a symphonic masterpiece named “Expectations” featuring Nele Messerschmidt [ELVELLON]. The result is an emotive piece that heightens the senses and evokes goosebumps. “Unohdukseen Katoaa” is the only Finnish song on the album, but that’s not the only reason why it stands out, in this song the three vocalists shine and this song is proof of how they blend in perfectly with one another.

“Far Beyond and Further,” the second single of the album, continues in an energetic way. The song matches its lyrics perfectly, as it feels as if the orchestration is the perfect representation of exploration. Closing my eyes, I see the stars passing by in my mind and drift among galaxies faraway and it makes me think how impressive it is when a song can do that.

“Wolves Among Men” shows another side of the band again and is perhaps my favourite song on the album. In their track-by-track videos, the band has stated that they feel this is the weirdest and most theatrical track on the album. “Wolves Among Men” definitely stands out in that exact way, as it has more interaction between the vocalists than the other songs – even in the backing vocals – almost to the point that it could be easily taken out of a musical. “Prelude For Emptiness” offers an instrumental break and beautiful atmospheric build-up to the last song of the album, showing that the band doesn’t necessarily need lyrics to tell a beautiful story.

The album closer, “Drifting in the Universe,” is graced with more beautiful orchestrations, resulting in a 12 min epos that takes you on a last journey with the characters. The song itself is really stunning, progressing in an outstanding way and lingering on even after it’s over. It immediately screams for more and spurs the listener to press play again. Augmented by a great production, all vocalists, the drumming, the bass, keyboards, and the orchestrations shine with the same elegance as the cover art that draws an accurate picture of the visual representation of “The Waste Land.”

All-in-all, LOST IN GREY are effortlessly combining traditional elements from symphonic metal with other-worldly choirs, spoken word narration, and beautiful orchestrations. “The Waste Land” stretches the imagination even further, it is proof that storytelling in music is a careful and calculated process where it’s all about the details. LOST IN GREY is definitely a band to keep an eye out for, and they have proved this yet once again with “The Waste Land.”

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Tracklist

1. The Waste Land
2. Expectations
3. Unohdukseen Katoaa
4. 1992
5. Far Beyond and Further
6. Wolves Among Men
7. Prelude for Emptiness
8. Drifting in the Universe

Lineup

Harri Koskela as Patrick (Vocals and Keyboards)
Anne Lill as Lillian (Vocals)
Emily Leone as Odessa (Vocals and Violin)
Aapo Lindberg as The Ancient (Bass)
Miika Haavisto as Immanuel (Guitars)
Waltteri Väyrynen (Session drums)

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