Wuthering Heights: Salt
Folk Metal, Power Metal, Progressive Metal
Scarlet Records
April 27th, 2010
  1. Away! - 1:27
  2. The Desperate Poet - 6:28
  3. The Mad Sailor - 6:19
  4. The Last Tribe (Mother Earth) - 7:54
  5. Tears - 5:55
  6. Weather the Storm - 6:53
  7. The Field - 5:58
  8. Water of Life - 2:06
  9. Lost At Sea - 16:38

Comment on this review! 		Notes:

Free Metal:
- "The Desperate Poet" (MP3)

Links:
- Google Video Search
- Official Myspace
- Official Website
- Scarlet Records

Review information:
- Album length: 59:31
- Review posted on April 27th, 2010
Discography
Full-Length(s): Within (1999) | To Travel For Evermore (2002) | Far From The Madding Crowd (2004) | The Shadow Cabinet (2006) | Salt (2010)
Demo(s): Within (1997)
Review
Wuthering Heights has always been an impressive act since the band's debut album, Within, hit shelves back in 1999. Salt marks the band's fifth studio effort, and simply does not let the listener down once again. Staying far away from much of the stereotypes of the styles they mesh together, the band plays more of a Power Metal album then anything, utilizing some Progressive riffs and change-ups in the musical pace. Playing the music like this, however, really causes the album to stand out, as it adds more of an edge to the sound here. Aside that, there's also a Folk element which will appear through random moments that typically are slower segments in a song, or through the guitar work tracks.

You can really feel the folk element appear in tracks like "The Last Tribe (Mother Earth)", as well as through the Folk instruments utilized during the bridges on the track "The Field" and the acoustic folk lead-in track "Water of Life". But, these aren't really the most stand out moments. Honestly, the bridge in "The Field" is a little out of place, but will not deter the listener from enjoying the track at all. It's the more powerful guitar riffs throughout that stems from Power Metal that really drive the album home. Tracks like "The Desperate Poet" and "The Mad Sailor" really cause the album to stand out through the more melodic guitar work that hammers at the listener.

While the album itself is very impressive right from the start, nothing on this release can compare to the overall epic closing track "Lost At Sea", which is perhaps the most intense track off the album, and manages to blend all three styles together in perfect harmony to create one of the most epic song introductions you will probably hear all year. The problem with this is that, for as intense as the start to this song is, it seems to be all for nothing as it suddenly slows down to a ballad for a bit before even starting to pick back up, interrupting the flow of the song. This track is far from bad, just could have been better had it fed off the material the band wrote to kick the track off with. Too bad, as the song actually does become a bit generic from there, and winds up being the only real let down of the album. Given the track length of over sixteen minutes, it was to be expected, really.

Either way, Salt is one hell of a Progressive Power Metal ride from start to finish. The brilliance of the music Wuthering Heights put together on this album cannot be denied, making this a stand out must own album of the year. With the exception of half way through the final track, Salt features enough solid and intense material to keep the listener addicted and coming back for many more listens to come.