*This is part of our State Of The Art series, showcasing bands every Monday from the featured state. This month’s state is Delaware.*
This is a change of pace from my usual metal fare, but Delaware’s Bastion’s Wake are an enigmatic power/symphonic band that piqued my interest with the fantasy artwork of their first album, ‘Sea Creatures and Sky Pirates’.
The band hail from Delaware City and are comprised of the exotically named ėVė (vocals) and the equally idiosyncratic Derelith October (guitar/throat singing). Bastion’s Wake describe their sound as “cinematic metal” and I wouldn’t argue with that. Their sound is ethereal with music that takes you away to a spiritual plain, to a high land of rich imagination.
The first full length record is a masterpiece of modern metal that twists the energy of metal and melds it with classical mood pieces. The vocals are lush and clear, beautifully toned and breathless. The sound of ėVė singing like a siren to the rocks envelops your soul and strings you up on the winds of passionate power. Songs such as “Claudia” are very cinematic. They are full or orchestrated power and lustful for life.
Allied to the real firepower of ėVė is the most religious of orchestration that you will find outside of European symphonic metal. The guitars soar and the strings/synths break through the sonic stratosphere. There is a melancholia in among the passion and it truly draws you into a fantasy world.
My favorite tracks include the intensely world-weary call of “Alice Dieve“. This is chock full of intricate passages of stellar guitar work and breathless emoting. The vibrant soundscape trickles like spun webs of golden threads and runs its fingers up and down your ears.
Other highlights include the brooding Celtic mystery of “The Secret Garden” and the punching “Fairwell To Midland“.
The band has an enigmatic smile in its music and a taste for romantic mysticism. The album is one of my favorite records of 2019 and I look forward to future releases. All in all, this is a classy, talented group who play their own brand of power metal to perfection.
