ALBUM REVIEW: Preserved In Time – Wheel

Not to be confused with the Finnish prog metallers of the exact same name, Germany’s WHEEL have been active since 2009, churning out an EP and two full-lengths. After an eight year wait since their last effort, 2013’s Icarus, the band return with their third opus Preserved In Time.

What’s immediately apparent is that this is epic doom very much in the vein of SOLITUDE AETURNUS mixed with a heavy dose of CANDLEMASS worship. Soaring vocal melodies, grinding, glacial riffs and understated but no less effective drumming is the order of the day and on that front, WHEEL delivers in spades. True to doom form, not a single song dips below five minutes, with all bar one being in excess of six and the only exception itself isn’t far off that mark. 

The worry with longer songs is whether the band has enough ideas to fill the space and doom has a very similar problem. Given the slower pace and the natural consequence of fewer ideas, it’s critical that what is going on is interesting enough to keep interest. Fortunately for WHEEL, the answer to this question is an emphatic yes – with very few caveats.

First track At Night They Came Upon Us is everything you could expect from an epic doom song; a mid-paced groove that opens it with some hi-hat work that accentuates and elevates it. This is followed by Arkadius Kurek’s vocals, that are more than suited to the style. His is both theatrical and capable of emotional expression in the vein of PALLBEARER. There’s a moment very reminiscent of the Arkansas quartet around the midway mark of the opener, a particular way of expressing emotion and melody that’s reminiscent of their earlier works without being derivative. 

Preserved In Time is remarkably even throughout its seven tracks; there’s no drop-off in quality and it’s consistently enjoyable and there are some real standout moments. Fourth track She Left In Silence once more channels raw emotion through its yearning opening and verses are grinding, glacial plodding affairs while the chorus wallows in gloom though the melodies themselves soar. Likewise, Aeon of Darkness keeps the glacial pace while mixing in occasional spoken word samples for effect and to add variety amongst the riffs to avoid them growing too stale. 

Last but certainly not least, closer Daedalus is a near nine minute epic that opens with serpentine melodies atop the crushing doom; there’s an almost IRON MAIDEN flavour to them, if only in passing. As slowly as it opens, its closing minutes are even more dirge-like and fully embrace the epic scale of their music along with morose melodies before closing in a wave of feedback. 

While Preserved In Time doesn’t reinvent the wheel, as it were, the impression given is that this isn’t the intention whatsoever. What WHEEL have set out to do is to find a way to meld their influences into one cohesive whole and here they’ve arguably managed it more successfully than on any of their previous releases. There are bands that do epic doom better and there are bands that manipulate emotional weight better – most notably PALLBEARER – but that absolutely doesn’t make this a bad album. It’s nothing new, certainly, but it’s well-executed, well crafted and well worth your time. 

Rating: 8/10

Preserved In Time is out now via Cruz Del Sur Music. 

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