WIDEK is a band that crosses many genres in Metal...Atmospheric, Progressive, Melodic, Djent, and Post...to name but a few. In this third offering here, Maciej features several guest musicians, in an all-instrumental album, save for one track that is featured twice; once with vocals. "Dream Reflection" has eleven tracks.

"Skybridges" features musician/guitarist and teacher Stel Andre. After a brief atmospheric opening, the Djenty guitar riff comes at you straight and unyielding. Layers form in the background, like clouds reaching to the heavens, with some Post sounds mixing in. Lush and rich, like the dark greens of a valley floor, Stel's leads cap the serenade as it crescendos to completion. Adam Rafowitz (ARCH ECHO) guests on "Daydreamer," which has both a subdued beauty and passages of magnanimous bliss. At some points, a heavy thudding bass line plods underneath as the delicate melodies take shape. A blistering lead showcases both undeniable talent and a penchant for synergy in composition.

"Drifting Imagination" is a little more introspective. The guitars feature a few different techniques along the path in this song. Sometimes muted, and other times spiraling upwards with unabashed melody, fortitude and constitution, it is as formidable as it is alluring. "Substance" features Marin Majrowski (DISTANT DREAM). As a side bar, if you haven't heard his new album, please remedy that immediately. It's a short and compact song with a speedier pace and some wonderful layering with guitar and piano in particular. It keeps a pretty strong pace until the end, coming to completion with a moving ambient passage. "Adventurer" is a chunky and weighted affair, featuring guitarist Sithu Aye. In what would possibly be a chorus if the song had vocals, it pauses briefly before waves crash over you and transport you somewhere to another dimension. He buries the strings in his guitar solo as well.

"Bliss" is an aptly titled track. It opens like your view would be as the sun rises on a spring day. From there it moves peacefully forward, with dreamy guitar sequences and atmosphere of deep and rich colors and texture. It's the perfect precursor to the heavy and energetic "Fading Memories." While the instruments hammer away on a weighted guitar riff, lead guitar and piano dance spritely overtop, marrying the two elements with a charming mastery. It invigorates you and reminds you of all of the beauty that there is in the world. "The Mind's Journey" is the long song on the album, at just over six minutes. This song really has a lot of complexity, but is also so easy to listen to. It opens with soft piano notes some the beat of electronica, before a majestic guitar riff hits. It steadily builds in layers until resting calmly at around the four-minute mark. The closing sequence is akin to floating a weightless atmosphere, admiring the beauty of the universe.

Stel Andre is featured again in the track "False Paradise" (instrumental version). It has a combination of some swinging rhythms and some heavy guitar accents, along with some more ethereal passages. The structure of the song definitely supports vocals so it will be interesting to hear the other version. It ends in a heavy and chaotic breakdown. "Enter & Escape" has a fluid and breezy tone. Soft piano passages and solemn lead guitar notes are complimented with some wide open passages that have a full sound. Ricky Davenport provides the vocals to the second edition of "False Paradise" and the song takes on a completely different tone. Some people connect with vocals more than music, and some the opposite. I enjoyed both versions equally myself.

Every now and again, an album comes your way that leaves your breathless and just sticks to your very soul. This is what we have here with WIDEK's "Dream Reflection." The compositions are obviously written by a seasoned musician who understands the intricacies of the application of melody, the impact of how a full heavy sound can trigger the rush of endorphins, and the frail and supple beauty of more ethereal and atmospheric passages. Let the goosebumps flow on this album folks. It's an undeniable winner and one of the best albums I have heard in 2018.