With over 30 years experience fronting bands such as Fates Warning, Redemption, and Engine, vocalist Ray Alder finally releases his first ever solo album, What the Water Wants, on, of course, InsideOut Music. Produced by Alder himself with mixing done by Simone Mularnone (DGM, Sweet Oblivion), the singer has brought on board for the album Mike Abdow (guitars, bass), Tony Hernando (guitars, bass), and Craig Anderson (drums) to help bring this solo release to life. Though not as heavy or proggy as either Fates Warning or Redemption, What the Water Wants is still an intriguing, and instantly memorable set of songs, steeped in atmosphere with plenty of haunting mood floating through each and every track. "Lost" busts out of the gate with some memorable riffing and Ray's unmistakable vocals & melodies, leading into two hook laden rockers, "Crown of Thorns" and the Pink Floyd influenced "Some Days". "Shine" is one of the albums more raucous cuts, a molten riff-fest of heavy metal guitar thunder & acrobatic drumming, Alder soaring over the top in trademark fashion, and "Under Dark Skies" has plenty of texture to go along with dreamy melodies, images of classic Fates Warning, Queensryche, and even Dream Theater popping up from time to time. Even the more accessible rockers carry some heft to them, like "A Beautiful Lie", "Wait", and "What Water Wanted", showing as always how Alder is full capable of crafting hook laden material that rocks hard at the same time. And, the "Killing Floor" ? An absolutely killer slice of melancholy metal dripping with haunting melodies.
What the Water Wants is another of those late 2019 releases that we are getting to a little late in the game, but as always, better late than never. A VERY solid solo debut from this legendary progressive metal singer, and highly recommended.
Track Listing
01. Lost
02. Crown Of Thorns
03. Some Days
04. Shine
05. Under Dark Skies
06. A Beautiful Lie
07. The Road
08. Wait
09. What Water Wanted
09. What The Water Wanted
10. The Killing Floor
11. The Road (Acoustic Version)
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