Album review: WEEND’O – You Need To Know Yourself

April 23rd, 2019 by GRTR! HQ

Sonicbond [Release date 12.04.19]

We were impressed by the sophomore release – Time Of Awakening – by French progressive metal band Weend’ô (pronounced Window) this time last year.

With some heavenly vocals from singer/keyboardist Laetitia Chaudemanche, lovely, fluid, lead guitar lines from Térence N’Guyen, and a driving rhythm section of Maxime Rami (bass) and Nathanaël Buis (drums), the album was a perfect balance of prog metal tempered with a healthy dose of melody.

Now the band are releasing a remix version of their, sold out, 2012 debut. At the time it received positive reviews around the globe, but soon after its release, in 2013, the band worked on some re-arrangements with fellow countryman keyboardist/producer Stephan DeReine (who’s worked with artists as diverse as Billy Cobham, Alexander O’Neal, Stevie Wonder, Spandau Ballet, to name but a few).

Quite why wait so long to dust these off is a puzzle, because – using the Bandcamp stream of the original as a reference point – the new mixes do sound far superior – more richness in the vocals, more attack in the guitars, and a greater depth to the rhythm section.

It all serves to make You Need To Know Yourself sound a more mature and polished effort, although Chaudemanche’s heavily accented vocals do make the lyrics a little difficult to follow without the lyric booklet. But that aside, if you like your female fronted melodic prog served with a lightly serrated metal edge, You Need To Know Yourself is well worth checking out. ***1/2

Review by Pete Whalley

Album review (Time Of Awakening)

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