Watershape
Perceptions

Lets have it then, my perceptions on the album called Perceptions by the Italian band called Watershape. It is the first album by this band that was formed in 2014 by drummer Francesco after he departed Hypnotheticall (a band we have reviewed here at Hallowed) and he has some other Hypnos-guys in the band that is claimed to be inspired by the likes of King Crimson, Genesis, Dream Theater and many other well known progressive rock and metal bands. An album they release on their own, and an album that hasn’t been granted the best album cover ever but it isn’t the cover that is being reviewed and the music is certainly much better than the artwork.

Progressive rock/metal is the genre and while they don’t mention the likes of Leprous and Haken, they are the bands I think of first when hearing this album. Quite melodic, relatively complex, well produced, it is certainly a very varied album with strong vocals and competent song writing. Sure, it isn’t super-duper original but it feels fresh enough to be appealing and it was given a slightly mediocre rating at that temple site who always overrate mediocre albums so a lower rating could be considered a good sign – it may mean that it doesn’t sound boring as boring albums always get good ratings there. And it is quite varied and has a pretty good depth and it is something so unusual as a progressive album that is shorter than fifty minutes – that’s always a positive.

I like this album, the songs are good and the album has much to offer. They keep it simple enough, don’t end up lost in complexities or fall into any of the other traps that many progressives tend to fall into. I guess you could say that they press the right buttons to appeal to those into the progressive rock or metal music. Sure, they may not be the best or the most original in the genre and there are some better bands out there, but they are not really that many and I think that these guys are certainly worth giving a moment or two of your time.

And after those forced words of doubtful wisdom I guess we can conclude that this album comes recommended from our writer, meaning that it is probably worth your while. I think it starts really well and then it ends in an even better way, I think it is great and it is an album that can be worth having in your record shelf despite the rather dreary artwork. I guess you can claim that it has a rather dreary artwork but great music – at least that’s my perception.

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