WAYD
Ghostwalk

When death metal meets (or clashes, if you will) with fusion, the results can vary widely. Over time, these two genres have frequently been combined, often producing masterpieces and sometimes slightly lesser offerings, yet always of high caliber. Since as far back as 1993, when Atheist, Cynic, and Pestilence laid the groundwork and broke through the barriers of music beyond just death metal, numerous bands have started to express themselves according to these parameters, frequently achieving good results.
Given this, I am about to review this "Ghostwalk", the fourth album by the Slovakian band Wayd, a band active for about ten years and devoted to the aforementioned experiments. I will say right from the start that the album in question does not completely thrill me because, in my humble opinion, it has many merits but also several flaws. Regarding the merits, I can say that "Ghostwalk" is a very varied album where death and fusion blend quite well, creating a rather original sonic mix; the guitar solos tend more towards fusion than metal and are very inspired, the drums remain technical and varied without diving into impossible acrobatics, the vocals are very dynamic and powerful with a good growl and other well-suited tones, the jazz-flavored bass, always in the right place at the right time, completes the instrumental picture, supported by a decent if not excellent production that honors all instruments.
Regarding the flaws, however, I can say that there are some underwhelming episodes due to a little problem that the Slovaks have been carrying with them for years, namely, the rhythm guitars; often simple and more in the line of death/thrash rather than techno-death. In fact, while on one hand, this might increase the momentum, on the other it makes the compositions slightly banal and predictable, precluding a sort of structural complexity, which is an absolute peculiarity of said genre. This does not mean at all that the album isn't intricate, but at times it lacks punch, affecting the final outcome. Criticism aside, these guys deserve to be heard and supported; the potential is there, they just need to be utilized in the right way, hoping in the not-too-distant future for the awaited masterpiece.