Something Beautiful - Song About Angel (2009)
The moment one stars listening to “Songs About Angels” one might think that Mikael Åkerfeldt has a close relative living somewhere in Chicago that also decided to make a career in music world. The progressive vein in which the album opener “Slowly Walking Into The Night” makes its way to the listener’s mind remind indeed of the Swedish Metal star, especially when it comes to Dale Tippett’s soft and warm vocals. A much darker territories are being explored in the following composition which includes some disquieting keys played in classical music fashion. The programmed drums both here as well as in the other compositions intensify the Americans’ work and scent it in a nearly futuristic way. Certain pleasant solos put a stress on the romantic nature of this music not making it too maudlin however. The collaboration between the guitars and the plastic drums results in a pretty interesting feeling of the album, something that theoretically does not quite tally, yet after listening to it, it turns out that the “artificial” may nicely go along with the “organic”. Add to this the diverse efforts from the synthesizer section and the vocals made by both musicians and you can imagine this is a very captivating mixture.
The tempo of the work alters pretty much and both the faster moments (prevailing here) as well as the more calm ones bear a considerable dose of intensity. Generally speaking, it seems that “variety” is the keyword and the ultimate goal for the musicians. Dark Wave influences flirt with Melo-Death/Core sounds, Goth Metal meets Progressive music and oriental Folk tunes complete the musical profile of the band’s work. If I were to say which artists seem to have inspired SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL this review would probably be much longer so let’s just name a few like DEPECHE MODE, DIARY OF DREAMS, PAIN or OPETH. On the other hand using the word “inspiration” might be a bit inappropriate as regards this American duet as they are creating their own story based on their talent and skills, not by simply gathering all the best pieces from the above-mentioned groups.
Of course forging a new quality by using among others the already known recipes does not guarantee a success if a band is weak at song-writing. Fortunately there is a number of solid tunes here with “Daughter Of God” hitting my personal top, a composition including elements typical of ballad songs sharing some similarities with modern Rock pieces. Another very interesting moment is “Lay Down” which fits perfectly for being performed live. It maybe does not have so much to do with Goth or even the so called Atmospheric Metal – being closer to Modern Extreme/Nu Metal aesthetics – yet you do not have a feeling that the band suddenly make a step in a completely odd direction.
There are really too few bands around these times representing such branch of music. Even though it is labelled as Gothic Metal by various sources (though the band themselves add some more adjectives to the noun Metal) I still find it hard to use this term in this case. Well, for some time this label has been evoking rather mixed feelings as regards my person. On one hand we have had numerous bands copying and utilizing the same old patterns making the genre worn out and boring but on the other hand there has been still several acts that have had the ability to keep my attention up although not bringing anything truly innovative into the Goth realm. SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL can not be placed in either of these categories. They are simply different offering a unique blend of musical emotions many Goth Metal acts may only dream of. Sharp chill, indifference, passion, intensity, calm and soothing warmth – you can find everything within the group’s twelve compositions. “Songs About Angels” are able to enchant you by much more than just something beautiful.
copas dari http://www.metal-observer.com/articles.php?lid=1&sid=6&id=16626
Tracklist:
Walking Slow Into The Night
A Voice In The Shadows
Crimson & Violet
Pray for Me
To Those Whose Love Of God Has Gone Away
I'll Never Tell
Daughter Of God
Pleasant Dreams
Lay Down
Dreams About Your Skin
Holding On
Even Angels Die
TKP
password : nymph
0 comments :
Post a Comment