Communic, Where echoes gather

Communic is a very dear band to me, from the first time I heard Wayward soul, I was fascinated by everything they did and many years later, I still remain so. Most bands I know can be easily associated with a genre or two (sure, not every band is Hammerfall, but for the most part I know where to fit them and how to describe them in a couple of words). Communic are something special, they’re doom, heavy, thrash, prog, Saturnus, Nevermore… something and more. But they’re always Communic and they’re always that intriguing mix of heaviness and emotion. 

Of course, Where echoes gather fits the bill. Exceptional from start to finish, always intense and ransacking, powerful, yet melodious and most of all, incredibly addictive. It just grabs me and doesn’t let go! It’s such a surprising work, that doesn’t let me breathe for a second and constantly keeps me hooked, twirling me up and down through all the moods and melodic moments it offers. And although most of the album is set in a grave and somber note, there are frequent changes of pace, atmosphere, harmonies and keys that offer a great musical counterpart to the ambiance they masterfully create. To me it’s the perfect balance between the emotional load of doom metal (which may not always be the most varied musically) and the technicalness of prog metal (which can sometimes be a bit cold and impersonal amidst all the demonstration of virtuosity). 

I don’t think these guys will ever stop enchanting me and making me feel like my vocabulary is too poor to express everything that they represent. On one hand you have those bits and pieces that sound like they’re from completely different tracks (but somehow manage to create a coherent whole, always melodious and flowing), those transition that feel so natural (and yet they take you to the most unexpected place in terms of structure and melody, which somehow also manages to sound logical once you hear it), with such a well done alternation between quiet&calm and loud&aggressive, both through steady beautiful growth moments and sudden changes. On the other hand, you have that intense expression of emotions. Whether it’s sadness, longing, resignation or determination, I just can’t help but live it along with them. Every single struggle is translated to me and every time I listen to these tracks, I have no idea how time flies. I’m so sunk into them, such a part of them, that it’s hard to think of or hear anything else. 

I think that what I appreciate most is that they don’t only create this  for the listener, they’re truly all in themselves. You can tell that they put a lot of talent, attention and especially soul into this and to me, that’s what good music is all about. They don’t rely on repeating something ten times to fill in the time (although I admit I could’ve done with one-two less “where eeeechooeeess gather”), they do something once or twice in a song and then they move along to something new. I don’t even think most of the tracks have a chorus I could pinpoint, some of them even make me forget where we started from. But through all these changes and ups and downs, there’s still that strong identity that makes them Communic, a certain atmosphere that captivates me and makes me be involved, and a ton of passion and display of sentiments.

The only minus I could find is that an album such as this can sometimes be pretty draining. Musically there are so many things going on and such sudden and numerous transitions and switches and emotionally they put such a strain and create such an inner turmoil that if I’m not truly ready for it, it’s hard to feel satisfied by these tracks, instead of simply tired. At the same time, I would say that this is exactly what makes it an excellent release and if one is not ready for such intensity, one should go listen to… something else.  

I’m so impressed with this! If you read the notes I took while listening to it, you’ll find all sorts of hearts and exclamation signs and “oh my god, this is gorgeous” and “I just LOVE that part”. Very little actual content, because that’s what Where echoes gather did to me. It brought me in with both excellent compositions and an infectious atmosphere and made me stop thinking about anything else like writing ideas or expressing something more detailed than “LOVE LOVE LOVE”. I’ve been sitting on this review for a while now, because I felt I couldn’t do justice to it and I just couldn’t bring myself to explain all the things that were going through my head and my heart while listening to this awesome piece of work. 

The harmonies, the guitar, the voice, the transitions, the mood, the genuineness, the power, the sorrow, the flow of music… to my ears they’re all perfect, creating a beautiful captivating whole. You’ll notice that except for a brief mention of “where echoes gather”, I never talked about individual songs. That’s how round and tightly knit this record is, that I can’t differentiate, nor rank. I’m just incredibly glad that I have such a great collection of tracks to listen to and rejoice in.