ALBUM REVIEW: Timewave - War

I discovered Timewave in the second half of 2011 and fell in love with his sound instantly. With every new track/remix I listened to, he kept earning more of my respect and I already considered him one of my favourite producers after a really short period of time.

A few months ago I found out he will be releasing a new album in the near future. Needless to say I was really hyped. I loved his debut album - Solar System, so I had huge expectations for this one aswell. Now that the album has been released and I've listened to it numerous time, I'm ready to share my thoughts. So does the album deliver? Here's my review:

Out Of Nowhere

The album kicks off with an awesome breaks track. It starts off with some cool whispering vocal samples and pads, which set the prefect starting mood. After the beats kick in and the melody starts playing, the track manages to build up an amazing goosebumps-giving atmosphere, which fits the title perfectly: War has started and it came out of nowhere.

Score: 9/10

Chaos

This track is only 128BPM, yet it has so much energy. That's one of the things Timewave's so good at and he shows it again. In addition to that there's the typical Timewave bassline and a great spacey melody on top. Overall he again manages to portrait the title perfectly.

Score: 8/10

Desperation

A little bit more of a melancholic mood in this one. The track slowly builds up to a haunting breakdown, which is complemented with some acidic effects and whispering vocal samples.

Score: 7/10

Against The Wall

This track shows the more uplifting side of Timewave, which I really love. The beat feels rougher compared to the first 3 tracks, the melody is more euphoric and overall it manages to give a very uplifting vibe. The atmosphere is again enhanced by some spacey effects and subtle vocal samples.

Score: 8.5/10

Respite

Here he slows things down with a more chillout oriented breaks track. Nothing extraordinary, but very pleasant to listen to.

Score: 7/10

Signs Of Hope

Another breaks track, but with this one he steps it up a notch again. The track starts off a bit slow and on the melancholic side, but steps up after the breakdown and makes the second half much more epic. Proper journey from start to end.

Score: 8/10

Pushing Back

The bassline is very "heavy" and deep and the melody feels slow at first, which makes the track overall seem a bit slower and monotone. But this is all party of the journey. When the breakdown hits, the track already evokes a sense of euphoria and manages to keep this vibe till the end.

Score: 8/10

Through The Fire

Awesome dynamic track here. Starts of with some great pads and builds up a nice atmosphere. After that a very catchy beat and melody kick in, which are later interrupted by a few nicely placed breakbeat parts. In the end the track turns more uplifting.

Score: 8.5/10

Salvation

This track again shows the more uplifting side of this album. It takes a long time to build up, but it has a great drive from start to end.

Score: 8/10

New Begining

Nice way to end this journey: a very pleasant chillout track.

Score: 7/10

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Closing Thoughts

This album is, in my opinion, progressive trance at a very high level of quality, but I didn't expect anything less from Timewave. With War he manages to (again) firmly establish himself as one of my favourite producers. As you can see by the track titles, the album is constructed to tell a story and it achieves that perfectly. A real journey from start to end. I would recommend War to basically any EDM fan.

Overall Score: 8/10