Info - BLIND EGO: “Numb“

Being a member of an internationally successful progrock band Kalle Wallner is expected to have enough work to do. So his widely celebrated solo debut “Mirror” may be regarded by many as a lucky exception since the Freising-based musician had prescribed himself a large quantum of introspection to heal his wounded soul. But this cure released such an amount of new resources for him to present now after two years a follow-up. On “Numb” Kalle Wallner kicks the pedal to metal and presents to his fans a true-to-the-bone rock album. While his visit in the studio even ex-Sepultura drummer Iggor Cavalera was enthusiastic about the material. So he spontanously decided to record the song “Change Reprise“.

“I didn't plan that”, he explains. “It just happened. I maybe was in the mood to write a very groovy and rocking album. A few things indicated in some of the 'Mirror'-songs manifested here.”

But Wallner is a musician and songwriter too demanding to just limit himself to a mere display of abilities. So he presents us with his outstanding sophomore solo effort, apart from straight beats, hard sounds and countless high-recall-value riffs, graceful melodies, clever arrangements, enthralling solos and one or two compositional intricacies.

The opener “Lost” is a thrilling piece of music enriched by acoustic guitars and vocoder-effects thus enriching it with even more deepness. “Guilt” impresses the listener by walking the line between unleashed rock power and tuneful sensibility. The title track is causing goose bumps with its tricky ternary-to-binary rhythm changes. Floating on this wave of emotion the drums sometimes seem like whiplashes.

The carrot-and-stick approach? Maybe. But in any case, “Numb”, which is more powerful than its older sister, is overflowing with multiple facets. Energetically driving hypnosis (“Death”) goes hand in hand with atmospherical psychedelic rock (“Change”). On top of that, straight rock (“Seek”) is rendered as original as the uptempo riff-storm in “Torn”. Not to mention the soulstirring ballads “Leave” and “Risk”, continuing with their high quality the tradition of “Mirror” gems like “Don't Ask Me” and “Black Despair” and once more portraying Wallner as a sensitive songwriter.

The topics of “Numb” are, according to Wallner, “snapshots of extreme feelings flooding one's consciousness for a short time, siegeing the mind and letting nothing else reside next to them.” He continues explaining: “Therefore the short song titles; you tend to feel just 'lost', 'guilty' or 'numb'.”

From the “Mirror”-Blind-Ego staff vocalist Paul Wrightson (ex-Arena) and bassist John Jowitt (IQ) are again on board, as well as RPWL-colleague Yogi Lang, contributing background vocals and producing the album again. This time Wallner went without a second man on the mic (last time John Mitchell). “I was taking it into consideration to work with different singers again. But after we recorded the first tracks with Paul, it became clear to me that no one can top that. That's why I did the complete album with him.”

To compensate for this, Wallner had this time two four-string specialists by his side: Apart from John Jowitt, Sylvan's Sebastian Harnack played bass on “Numb”. A few runs were played by the guitarist himself, though. And the new man on drums is the excellent Michael Schwager (ex-Dreamscape).

One special guest on “Numb” has to be mentioned separately: Drummer Iggor Cavalera (Sepultura, Mix Hell) made the last song “Change Reprise” a special audio event. “Our booking agency had booked him for a concert with Mix Hell in my hometown”, said Wallner. “When visiting our Farmlands Studios he liked the Blind Ego material so much, that he immediately liked the idea to play on one song. This became the reprise of 'Change'.”

One thing at the end: “Numb” will also be to the liking of RPWL fans, and anyone considering them playing with padded gloves will be delighted by Blind Ego.

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