h e a t h e r

Tiamat's Wildhoney is probably one of the most dreamlike musical experiences ever created in modern rock music, both sonically and lyrically. Tiamat started out as an extreme metal band incorporating progressive sounds, and with Wildhoney, they left the "extreme metal" part out of the equation almost entirely. Wildhoney is probably most closely related to Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here, but is more surreal. "Kaleidoscope" is a vivid, quiet instrumental, which leads into the shimmering "Do You Dream Of Me?". This song is very ethereal; one guitar plays a simple, repetitive, almost waltz-like pattern throughout, and the other guitar occasionally sprinkles in sparse, plucking sorrowful chords. The vocalist sings in a soft repetitive rhyme, which almost sounds like a lullaby. At the end, the song releases into a classical guitar solo finish. This segues into "Planets", a long instrumental that has a New Age feel, in a good way. The next song, "A Pocket Size Sun", is an 8-minute masterpiece: the instruments consist of drums, bass, two clean guitars, and vocals. Once again there is a guitar which establishes a simple repetitive pattern throughout the whole piece. The rhythm section drifts in and out, and the lead guitar plays discordant, yet pretty notes that sound more like chimes and bluebells than guitar chords. The vocalist sounds pretty good when he sings in this quiet style; the surreal lyrics translate well into the music. Read the lyrics to this one! "Whatever that Hurts" is also a pretty good song, very mysterious. Unfortunately, a few of the songs include growling death metal vocals, which completely clash with the music. Fortunately, there are a few great songs that are free from that style of singing. review by Heather Mackenzie — undated —