Waterclime
The Astral Factor

If this album were a woman, she would definitely be an elegant and refined woman with something wild that makes her even more interesting. However, this is a disc and, strangely, it encompasses all three of these characteristics, with an additional value of great prestige. I am referring to the voice: now, if you're wondering to whom this voice belongs, I'll tell you... I’m talking about the voice of Vintersorg, whose real name is Andreas Hedlund, who, not content with his numerous projects, has added to his discography this one-man band, Waterclime, dedicated to a relatively new genre for our sprite, namely progressive rock with continuous jazz/fusion accents, showing the world the decidedly more refined and delicate side of a man who has always worked to grow the number of listeners in the black and viking metal fields.

"The Astral Factor", that's the title of the work, is a piece divided into eight episodes where, in addition to progressive rock and fusion, elements of symphonic rock, folk, parts closer to avant-garde music can be found, all seasoned with a sparkling, almost spring-like atmosphere, that really makes you forget you’re in front of an artist of extreme extraction.

The album opens with "Mountains", introduced by a bass line, which throughout the song proves to be the true protagonist along with the keyboards, and is then joined by the omnipresent deep voice of our good Vintersorg, who proves to possess (as if we didn't know) an extremely flexible voice suitable for interpreting a piece as extremely complex as Mountains is, because you can tell how the guitar and keyboard passages tend to move on a very high register that could create various problems for those not adequately prepared vocally.

We continue with electronic jazz (goodness me, horrible classification, better if I couldn't define it better) to which they connect folkish elements including the use of flutes and acoustic instruments that contribute to giving the song a sense of traditional music (in the sense of the indigenous tradition of a place) which is once again tied to Andreas, who performs a commendable job, setting the register on decidedly less baritonal tones.

Following is the jazzy progressive of "The Astral Factor", title track in which all the musical elements we previously talked about come into contact, giving life to one of the most representative episodes of the work: we appreciate not only the presence of the Hammond organ, which takes us back in time to the glorious 70s, but also the flutey and guitar lines that give the piece a strong epic sense.

On the same line as the previous one, we find the fourth song, "Diamond Moon", endowed, however, with a sadder and more melancholic mood highlighted both by the music and the extremely passionate voice of the Swede; "Painting Without Colours" turns out to be a more typically folk rock piece with an almost "nervous" pace, full of groove and freshness: the piece in several moments recalls the more rockin' soul of Blackmore's Night, especially concerning the guitar work.

We return to talk about progressive with "Midnight Flyer", which, however, brings to mind Led Zeppelin influences: the final result of the piece is truly excellent, with this mix of Zeppelin and King Crimson really well accomplished.

Closing the album is the duo "Scarytale" and "Timewind": the first is a track characterized by mellow and relaxed rhythms, certainly the calmest piece of the entire platter, with female vocals in the background in an entirely jazz setting; the second, however, adds little to the rest of the album, even though it is pleasant and has a good arrangement.

After finishing the album, what remains is to make the final considerations: this is an honest work, decidedly well-played, which shows us the noblest and gentlest side of Vintersorg, who, although not having invented anything new, has published a platter of very good quality and that, even though it doesn't make you shout masterpiece, can be listened to with extreme pleasure.