The 2012 Polish formed band Ayden, released their debut album in 2017. Identity is a nice combustion of post rock and elements of progressive rock and metal, but the atmospheric element perhaps is the one that stands out the most. The quartet consists of guitar players Dawid Maciejski and Błażej Drótkowski, bass player Łukasz Kordys and drummer Filip Słowiakowski. As a guest on the final track guitarist Maciej Karbowski joined in. When we refer to post rock, the homeland of this band; Poland has one of the largest fan bases of this musical style. But also, this country has numerous bands representing this genre, some successfully, other bands less interesting. Ayden presents themselves in a very decent way, the opener Awaking is a more than solid ten minutes lasting trip, binding spherical parts and a very fine groove together. Too bad this element doesn't find a continuation in the following compositions. The powerful part at the end of the track sounds like a promise for the upcoming compositions. A track like Falling adds a nice subtle touch; more mellow and drenched in fine sounding guitars. But although songs like What If?, Horizons and Diagnosis are pretty decent tracks, I still get the impression, Ayden doesn't really add anything new to the post rock genre. We have heard similar compositions of more renowned bands like Tides Of Nebula and God Is An Astronaut. Nevertheless the execution of the compositions the band has written is flawless. Is it because the genre of post rock limits musicians in their fantasy or imagination, or do most bands, hailing from the genre try to re-create the same vibe over and over again. For me, I am still waiting for a post rock band to stand up and inject the genre with new challenging elements. In the end Ayden has released a decent album, an album that will get its spins, but just because it sounds great, not because Ayden re-defined a genre. ***+ Pedro Bekkers (edited by Tracy van Os van den Abeelen) Where to buy? |
