Wheel's 'Resident Human' - Album Review

Despite being a big fan of progressive metal, my preference has always leaned towards the more bombastic end of the genre. I love a lot of the bands who are directly influenced by traditional hard rock, progressive metal, and metal - with acts like Dream Theater, Evergrey, Symphony X, and Opeth sitting at the top of the progressive metal tree for me. There is a whole side of progressive metal which, until recently, I had largely left untouched however - and that is the side that takes a more minimalist and somewhat monotone approach to the genre. Some of these bands have feet in the djent and tech metal camps, with TesseracT being one band that I do quite like, but on the whole I have largely ignored the more angular progressive metal acts that followed in the wake of bands like Tool. In truth I have probably been missing out on a large subset of very talented and creative progressive metal bands, but I have always struggled with the dry, minimalist sound of that side of the genre. I like big melodies, anthemic choruses, and bombastic instrumental sections in my progressive metal - and the more minimalist end of the genre is almost the antithesis of my perfect idea of it. That being said, over the past couple of years I have been branching out a little more. As mentioned above, I quite like much of TesseracT's catalogue, and I have been enjoying albums by both Caligula's Horse and Rendezvous Point recently (the latter was one of the last bands that I saw live, supporting Anathema, before the COVID-19 pandemic really kicked off in a big way). The most recent band of that ilk that I have been listening to however is the Anglo-Finnish act Wheel - who play just the sort of angular, stripped-back, esoteric progressive metal that I had avoided until fairly recently. As I will hopefully be seeing the band live next year with Epica, I thought it was time to give them a go - and I enjoyed their 2019 debut album Moving Backwards which I picked up last year. When they announced their second album, I decided to pre-order it and take the plunge - and it is an album that I have also been enjoying a fair bit since its release last month. Resident Human, Wheel's second album, feels like the natural continuation of the sound that the band forged on their debut two years ago. Sometimes the 'metal' label seems unfit for Wheel, as they are not often a particularly heavy band, but the dense atmospheres and haunting arrangements that they come up with are certainly metal in scope and spirit. Since the release of Moving Backwards, Wheel have undergone some line-up changes however. Frontman James Lascelles and drummer Santeri Saksala return from the band's previous incarnation, with bassist Aki Virta joining the fold for Resident Human. Lascelles, who played rhythm guitar on Moving Backwards, plays nearly all of the guitars this time around (as well as most of the keyboards) but former lead guitarist Roni Seppänen contributes a guitar solo to one of the songs here. Seppänen's replacement, Jussi Turunen, does not play on the album - with Wheel essentially operating as a trio this time.

Resident Human features seven songs: three shorter songs, three longer-form pieces, and a closing instrumental coda. It is one of the longer songs, Dissipating, that kicks thing off - the snaking, atmospheric piece a perfect introduction to Wheel and their sound. A chiming guitar arpeggio opens the song, Virta's bass playing off it with a simple denseness, and the song gradually builds - Anathema-esque - around it. Those who like the way that Anathema, at least on their more recent albums, often build complex songs around repeating patterns and grooves will love the approach Wheel have taken here - as Dissipating echoes that style nicely. The song moves up a gear when Saksala's hollow drums crash in, and the verse gets underway - with Virta's bass work from the intro expanded upon to provide the main musical counterpoint to Lascelles' mournful vocals. Lascelles is the perfect singer for this type of music, his vocal style possessing a certain fragility that clashes perfectly with Virta's potent bass playing, but those expecting big vocal theatrics should reset their expectations. Wheel are not that sort of band, but Lascelles is a great singer - his distant vocals always perfectly floating above the dense soundscapes the band create. The Anathema-esque arrangement works wonders for the song's journey too, and really allows Lascelles' vocals to shine throughout. Parts of the song do adopt a somewhat heavier approach, with crunchy guitar rhythms and hypnotic, gothic leads, but other moments revel in a relative simplicity - with Virta's bass once again taking the spotlight while Lascelles provides bluesy accents with his guitar. As the song moves towards its conclusion however, things ramp up further. Saksala adds some tribal drumming rhythms behind a Virta bassline, which sounds much dirtier tone-wise by this point, with Lascelles adding crunching metal rhythms and a spacey guitar solo. This is the song's most overtly metal moment, and the more aggressive rhythms here perfectly contrast the song's slow-burning build up. Dissipating might be the perfect introduction to Wheel and their sound, as it contains a bit of everything that makes the band so interesting, and as a result it is a perfect way to open up their second album. Following the snaking Dissipating, the album moves into more concise territory for a couple of punchier tracks. Movement instantly has a much spiker feel than the vast majority of Dissipating, with Saksala's drums leading the way early on - before Lascelles launches into a groove-based, Gojira-esque riff that perfectly plays off the drum patterns to create something of an off-kilter feeling. Movement is a much more in-your-face song, and the album benefits from this burst of heaviness after the complex previous number. Wheel can really shake the foundations when required, and Movement is a great example of their metal side. Lascelles really goes for it vocally here, pushing himself during the choruses which have something of an anthemic sound with some hooky melodies. The band shot a video for this song, and I can see why as it is probably one of the most accessible-sounding songs that they have written. There is still a complexity to the arrangement, and the band's progressive side is still on display, but there is certainly a lot more straight-up riffing and grooves throughout Movement.

Ascend is similar, but perhaps a bit more dynamic overall. The song's opening riff is a really heavy moment, with some pseudo-Lamb of God patterns forced through the band's dry filter, but it does not stick to this high-octane approach throughout. There are a lots of moments that hark back to the more atmospheric side of Dissipating, but with a much more concise and hard-hitting sound. The song is just over four minutes long, so the ideas are never going to have as much time to shine or develop - but as a result the song hits much harder on a more primal level. The opening riff often returns to forcefully burst out of the speakers - and shattering the relative peace caused by the more atmospheric, bass-led sections. Those who prefer the heavier end of Wheel's sound will instantly love Ascend, as its tight riffing and oppressive metal atmosphere really shines. Hyperion follows, and it is the album's longest song at just over 12 minutes in length. The band's longer songs tend to, unsurprisingly, be much more progressive and diverse - and Hyperion follows a similar overall style to Dissipating. Where Hyperion differs however is that it takes a much meatier approach. There are more atmospheric moments, that again prominently feature Virta's bass playing, but there is also much more of a guitar presence this time. There is a lot of riffing to be found throughout, with Lascelles often laying down numerous layer of guitar to create a dense and complex sound. There are so many subtle leads featured here, and there is often a mournful guitar pattern playing off his vocals - with brief solo sections and repeated patterns building up a great overall tapestry of sounds. As a result, the song is much more overtly progressive metal than Dissipating, with a little more bombast within the song. Wheel have not suddenly become Symphony X, but it certainly feels like the band wanted to get a bit more technical and flashy this time around. The guitar work throughout the song is stellar, and the constant drum attack of Saksala never allows the band to rest. His punchy tone here really makes the song tick, and it is perhaps telling that the more atmospheric moments feature little drumming - with the song building up again as soon as he starts laying into his kit. It is also the song to feature a guitar solo from Seppänen, who's knotty and virtuosic playing fills a good chunk of the song's final quarter. Wheel are not a band who indulge in long guitar solos too often, but given the guitar prominence throughout the song it seems fitting that Seppänen was called upon to add his talents to it. It helps to elevate the song further, and it is an album highlight as a result.

Fugue, the last of the shorter songs, again opens with a big Saksala drum presence - but rather than going for an all-out heavy attack, the song is another relatively slow-burner. Saksala's groove is the perfect foundation for the song, which builds slowly with a Virta bassline and then some Lascelles guitar chimes. Again, the song is quite Anathema-esque in arrangement, with 'heavier' sections that are so because of their denseness rather than their metal-esque riffs, and vocals that often add more atmospherically than they do lyrically. Some of the vocal sections here are almost buried in the mix, deliberately, which then make the clearer, lyric-based, sections hit harder as a result. This is a bit of an atypical approach for the band, but it works well in my opinion. It almost feels like an instrumental track, so limited are the overt vocal passages, with the hypnotic grooves and layered guitar textures being the highlights here. The album's title track follows, and it is the album's final long-form progressive piece. It starts off very atmospherically, with guitar drones and synths, but it soon starts to build up with some more impressive drum grooves - and another excellent bassline that feels much dirtier and more aggressive than is usual for the band. While Wheel often feels like Lascelles' band, the importance of the rhythm section cannot be understated. The dryer side of progressive metal is often centred around rhythms, and the partnership that Virta and Saksala have formed throughout this album is a big part of what makes it so enjoyable. Every song here is packed full of grooves and movement, and they allow Lascelles to weave his magic against a varied and technical backing. The grooves often highlight the fragility of the vocals, or the atmospheric nature of the guitars, providing enjoyable contrasts that seem to be the centrepiece of Wheel's sound. Just as Dissipating is a great introduction to Wheel's core sound, Resident Human builds on it further - arguably upping the progressive scope with more keyboard use, and more of a focus, occasionally, on heavy riffs. There are some really heavy moments found throughout the album's title track, with TesseracT-esque angular riffing filling the song's second half - with spacey leads again providing some contrast to the heaviness. The song is another great representation of all that makes Wheel great - and it is fitting that is the last proper song on the album. It is left to the piano-led instrumental Old Earth to close things out however, the short, atmospheric piece something of a contrast to the closing moments of Resident Human - but with the same dense, foreboding atmosphere retained. It is a fairly simple coda, but it works well to closing things out - with the ringing piano contrasting nicely with the band's usual instrumentation. It is a great way to reflect on the previous six songs too, and their mix of heavy passages and atmospheric sections. Resident Human is an album that needs time, but it is also one that rewards patience and a willingness to persevere through the dense arrangements. It might not be the type of progressive metal that I usually favour, but it is a powerful and emotionally-charged album - and it is one that I can see myself returning to fairly regularly over the coming months.

The album was released on 26th March 2021 via Odyssey Music Network. Below is the band's promotional video for Movement.