Looking at the stories which go with the 9 tracks of this nicely packaged album, it seemed to be about a pilgrimage or spiritual journey. The opening Oriental style spoken piece does nothing to deflect this impression.
But whilst dreams are clearly an integral part of the story, the music initially suggested a different origin. As Whales Don’t Fly launch into “Man and the Pilgrim”, the style is pure tight melodic thrash metal. The vocalist screams harshly. A clean vocalist provides ethereal commentary, a bit like Persefone’s Miguel, and then there is a colourful explosion of guitar and rapid drum. “Journey Begins” takes us to new harshness before a switch is turned and a lush emotive passage develops. To powerful instrumental backing, the emotive passage spreads before the storm clouds break open once more. Leaving aside the style, of which there are several, this is a full-on experience instrumentally, structurally and vocally. “Seasons come and go”, rails the clean vocalist convincingly. The clean vocals are a highlight for me, and here are matched by a majestic instrumental climax. For me the first minute of two of “Journey Begins” could have been sacrificed, and way given to an extended final section. Thoughts of being transported away fade quickly however as “Mountain Peak” bursts into harsh thrash, developing into an exhilarating progressive gallop. Someone’s having fun out there with all this experimentation of sound, and actually it’s fun to listen to. I’d not heard Whales Don’t Fly before but this is music without fear. No straight lines or limits are drawn. To prove the point, “Dream Walker” starts in dark and sultry style. The sound-affected vocals provide a mystical touch to this powerful and multi-faceted. “Dream Walker” is like the Beatles at their most psychedelic, yet it’s also got elements of Opeth as have other parts of the album, At the Soundawn and Kingcrow. A feast of moody, progressive metal mysticism – that’s “Dream Walker”.
It marks the start of an almost psychedelic journey of wonderment. A punchy and catchy melodic rhythm oozes out of “Blossom in the Dark”. My head banged, my toes tapped and a world of progressive metal excitement flows along like a river. In it are a million musical stories, all adding colour and vibrancy. To listen to the start of “Journey’s End” you’d think that Whales Don’t Fly were a classic hard rock band but they weren’t catching me out this time. Sure enough we’re taken off to a distant land replete with musical expanse and emotion. The harsh screams, which at first I’d found rather strange, now express an added dimension and juxtapose with those dreamy clean vocals. The backdrop is massive and wraps itself around us in its immensity. I felt genuinely excited as I listened to this. This album just gets better and better. Whales Don’t Fly indulge us in vast expanse and do something which many hands don’t do, which is to maintain the indulgence instead of breaking off to an idea, so that we can soak in it.
Each piece is substantial but none is more so than the 11-minute title song. It starts in a mysterious way. “In the vast plains of a voidless kingdom, an ancient Pilgrim stands alone, moved by his own fate, carried by his own stone”. The clean and harsh vocalist tell the tale while the instrumentalists peddle a hard rock riff and enhance it with soulful heavy guitar work. The dreamy clean chorus is sublime. Midway through this opus we are transported into the centre of the voidless kingdom, complete with distant swampy sounds, evocative guitar and haunting vocals. It’s both tense and yet warming thanks to the guitar repetition, again reminiscent of At the Soundawn. We become embroiled once again in this musical world of colour and powerful emotion. It is hypnotising. Where did those eleven minutes go? Great journeys always seem to be over in no time, and this was one. The outro “Mother Nature’s Newborn” takes us back to the mystical beginning, as the narrator tells us the pilgrim’s weariness with the surrounding sounds of this magical and alien world and finally the lapping waves.
At first I thought this album was enigmatic, not least because of the heaviness and harshness which seemed to belie the overriding and evident mysticality, but I came to realise how magnificently textured it is. “The Golden Sea” challenges the mind thanks to the way that it’s constructed and in its mixture of styles. I really like that. Moreover, I became immersed in the pilgrim’s journey as Whales Don’t Fly immerse us in immense and musically sophisticated emotive atmospheres. It’s so magnetic in its progressive power that I realise I was becoming obsessed with it. “The Golden Sea” is a really original album. With such creative imagination and musicianship, this band deserves to go to higher places.
(9/10 Andrew Doherty)
15/02/2022 at 7:56 pm
Great album! I just don’t see much thrash here though, which is a good thing!