Rating: 7/10
Release: December 2016
Label: Independent

There was definitely a lot of discussion behind the scenes here about this one……is this folk metal? If not, what is it? What is Heather Wasteland? Well what they are is a 4-piece instrumental group consisting of 3 bass players and a drummer. An interesting combination to say the least…..but will it capture everyone’s interest? I have been playing bass for over 30 years (yes, I did say 30 haha) and as a bass player I find this to be pretty ambitious and a fun listen. This EP has a total of 5 tracks totalling just under 24 minutes…. well maybe 4 tracks with the title track having 2 different versions (regular and single edit). I think what is cool about this release is hearing how diverse an instrument the bass can be and not just be relegated to a bridge between guitar and drums. The layering of bass parts between the lead, the rhythm and bass synth is well thought out. All of the wood instruments, strings, etc that you hear are all bass, yes very cool indeed. I think the tracks are still relatively interesting even if you are not a bass player but being only instrumentals has it’s drawbacks. I think some vocals would make this less of a “novelty” project and be more full-fledged as a project going forward. I am a huge fan of instrumental music…. soundtracks, classical, dungeon synth, ambient, so I think this could go further maybe with a little more diversity in the style of tracks if it remains instrumental. If I start comparing this to some of my fav instrumental albums (old Mortiis, Jeff Loomis, Michael Manring, etc) you can see that Heather Wasteland has a way to go. For a first effort, it is solid for sure and may have wider appeal than I am giving it credit for. The recording is top notch, a huge bonus for this and I think it is absolutely necessary in this case. Where the bass can sometimes sound one dimensional, on this EP you can definitely hear the 3 instruments all playing their respective roles with the percussion being integrated nicely in as well. Is this folk metal? I don’t think so….. interesting? Yes for sure…. def worth a listen.

Tracklist

1. Tre Sverd 04:30
2. Under The Red Wolfish Moon 05:14
3. Venice (Barocco Veneziano) 04:11
4. Beltane (Intro) / Wicker Man 05:10
5. Under The Red Wolfish Moon (single edit) 04:45