Red Wave – Pamir (2013)

Finding talented musicians is pretty easy, however, finding a band with talented musicians than can actually write compelling music is a whole different story. Red Wave luckily is a three-piece that their individual skills greatly complement each other and they managed to deliver eight brilliant tracks of Progressive Rock/Metal. With a heavy and yet melodic sound, their music is quite skillfully crafted to appeal any fan of the genre and please even the most snobbish people in the scene.

The album leads away with the warm-up “Monolith” and a very funky bass guitar opening. The distorted guitars really give a certain kick to the music that many of the progressive releases we get are missing, allowing us to enjoy “Pamir” even more. The opening dreaminess of tracks like “Ikarus” is essential for the listener to really immerse themselves in the music, and Red Wave does a pretty darn good job at hooking people into their music.

“Pakedam” is one of those highly catchy tracks that will have your head bobbing immediately from beginning to end. The same goes for the more experimental and funky “Alpha”, a very cool track that is a bit different from the first few songs, but it nicely gets the job done. The flow of this release is quite natural with playful tracks filled with little details and effective riffs, as we can see in “Serpentine” and “Mercurius”. For more traditional fans, “Via” is one of those Dream Theater-esque songs that shows all the virtuosity in the band, while keeping things interesting and catchy. Interestingly enough, vocals appear in this song, while not necessary they are a nice touch.

Saving the best for last, “Lumen” really puts all the most awesome elements of this release together in its 14-minute duration. The dramatic percussions are something to note, adding extra depth to this very interesting track. While we get that old-school ‘empty space’ in the middle of the track, the album finally closes in a very strong and appealing way, something we won’t ruin for the listeners.

Overall, Red Wave is one hell of a band with excellent songwriting skills, something that lacks sometimes in the Progressive Rock/Metal world these days. “Pamir” delivers great music with no room for those annoying musical masturbation moments of releases in the genre. The band’s skills are showcased very organically through the tracks and allow the listening experience to be quite robust and enjoyable.

Label: Self-Released

Release: 2013

Genre: Progressive Rock/Metal

Country: Germany