Feast On Your Gone, the debut album from The Old Wind wasn’t necessarily what I expected from a band with such a moniker. However, after a multitude of listens, it does seem quite fitting. The Old Wind itself is a project by former Breach vocalist Tomas Liljedahl. He wrote and recorded the entire album as a solo project. As such, FOYG sees one man expunging inner demons through music.
For someone unfamiliar with Breach (me) a little research shows that The Old Wind may not fall far from the Breach tree but the differences are such that TOW stands on its own. Where Breach was heavy on atmospherics, TOW is more straightforward. That’s not to say FOYG is devoid of sonic layers pulling the listener in close, because it does exactly that.
Liljedahl utilizes a measure of patience in his song structures. While the vocals are forceful bellows, they aren’t all over the record. The tracks are allowed to breathe beneath the burly wall of sound emanating from the album “post”-metal clean guitar lines drift through the crush of distortion deepening its emotional impact.
Constructed as a way for Liljedahl to express the dark times, FOYG carries a heavy load. Having rhythms undulate with the ups and downs of life. But we’re mostly talking about downs. The immense tone pushes toward the melancholic while remaining epic in scope and feel. Much of the weight conveyed is due to the way the bass is more felt than heard.
Feast On Your Gone is a very cohesive album. The tone and style stay fairly constant through its entirety embracing the listener within its folds. The intensely personal lyrics being thrown in your face see Liljedahl tearing open his chest for the anguish to spill across the mountains and valleys created by the mood. Feast On Your Gone feels more like catharsis born of wisdom and experience than from angst or pure hatred. The delicate melodies and hefty riffs find a way into the subconscious, corroding your sense of wellness. Surely fans of Breach will find plenty to like in The Old Wind and for those just discovering Liljedahl’s work; Feast On Your Gone is a great place to start.
7/10
Matt Hinch