For those of you who aren’t familiar with him, Widek (Maciej Dawidek) is a one man project from Gdansk, Poland. He has started releasing music at the very beginning of the decade under the Widek moniker, as a shortened version of his name. This artistic endeavor turned out to be a most prolific one as now he has two EPs and with his latest, five full-length albums under his belt along with his own recording studio where all of his material is put together.
Widek’s trademark sound has been very much cemented since the first songs. It is a mixture of classic djenty instrumental progressive metal tropes blended with strong post rock aesthetics and structures. Later on we see how an ambiental element started becoming more and more poignant in the mix, lending to a richer and more compelling sound. From release to release we could notice sizable progress in terms of composition and production value. However between the last two releases and the rest, these differences became smaller and smaller, making it hard to notice how does the music go forward.
In terms of approach and delivery Garden of Existence picks up where Hidden Dimensions left off more than where Dream Reflection left off. That is, it is rather straightforward in how it flows from start to finish and it has a fair amount of variety to keep things engaging, albeit it would’ve been nice to have something more to hold on to from that point of view given that this is Widek‘s seventh release. In my opinion, Journey to the Stars was easily the highest point thusfar in his repertoire and it can be understandable how that isn’t easy to top without the result sounding like a rehash, or exploring new nuances in the pursuit of advancing the tunes and succeeding immediately.
Besides these minor shortcomings Garden of Existence is still a good release. It is quite cohesive and consistent. It does not fail to deliver all the sweet spacey cues, which I think all of us that listen to Widek crave for. I definitely enjoyed Garden of Existence more than the previous effort, Dream Reflection. It strikes, as aformentioned, akin to Hidden Dimensions a good balance between all the present elements in the mix. It even stays true to making the last track vastly different than the rest. “Rebirth” is a strongly ambiental piece with soothing textures drawing on etheral choirs to bring about a nice ending to the trip. Garden of Existence does have a definite plus above all other records, its production value is indeed more refined and makes things glisten with a satisfying aura.
Sure, it’s not a perfect record considering what it is succeeding, but Garden of Existence is a noteworthy album for what the instrumental metal with spacey overtones niche is about. Widek is, in my opinion easily the most notable artist within this niche. If you’re looking to glide away on a bed of stars among riffs and melodic trills then you’ve come to the right place.
