First Impression: Wasted Tales by High Mountain

Still “working” my way through October releases. Decided to give Wasted Tales from High Mountain, a quartet from France, a listen.

I dig the mellow opener of Atm. The use of the electric piano is a great touch, and a Soundgarden-ish bridge transition was nice as well. Great flow dynamics in this song. The vocals have an almost muffled sound, which seems intentional.

Green and Gold introduces the organ, pumping away in the background. It gives that classic rock vibe, and that comes and goes with the verses and changes in song structure. You can’t nail down where this track is going as it moves.

Quarantine starts off slow and mellow with some guitar before bringing on the bass and drums, and then opening up with a spacey sound. Vocals are semi-chant like in spots. The latter half of the song goes into more of a metal progression, which I dig.

Some background ambient sound starts off The King of the High Mountain. Drum beat, organ, and guitar roll in, and then the mood set quickly shifts with Pink Floyd-ian skill and sound. Mellow organ highlighting the verses that follows, and the a shift into heavier territory.

By now I have noticed that High Mountain is great at keeping a song moving by keeping the dynamics in their structure moving, and not sticking with any patterns between songs. That keeps you engaged in listening and waiting to see where it goes.

Feel the Same starts off with a heavier note compared to the rest of the album. Though this album is full of changes in structure, the overall tempo of the album holds true here, and makes this one feel like that stomper of a track you want to hear closing out the album. Made even better in the latter half with the backwards guitar sound and steady slowdown in tempo with the last minute just sustain and mild feedback noises.