Artist: Arcane Rain
Title: Nevermore
Genre: Dark Metal / Gothic
Release Date: 28th August 2015
Label: Self-released
Album Review
ARCANE RAIN is a formation from Karlsruhe, Germany, playing Gothic, Symphonic and Doom Metal in the tradition of early THEATRE OF TRAGEDY, TRISTANIA, THE SINS OF THY BELOVED, and DRACONIAN – regarding the latter one, as their similar sounding name implies, the group is clearly aware of and influenced by. ARCANE RAIN got together in 2006, recorded some demos, and have now released their first album, ‘Nevermore’.
To be honest, the fact that quite a lot of young bands have emerged recently that are so strongly attracted to the sound of this rather specific sub-genre of metal music from the 90s got me worried. Earlier this year, for example, RED MOON ARCHITECT from Finland and WHISPERING WOODS from Romania released one album each. No, actually I'm glad – I'm impressed by the tragically naive keyboards, vocal lines reminding one of "Beauty-and-the-Beast", raw riffs and painfully familiar themes from other songs. However, "authenticity in everything" is not always justified. In case of ARCANE RAIN their music sounds so "exotic" for 2015. And one more thing: On the debut album of ARCANE RAIN I missed ARCANE RAIN themselves, originality and their own handwriting. Of course, this might come with time and to demand it from a debut work doesn't seem very justified, but still.
After a short intro, the album opens with ‘Your own Hell’ - one of the toughest and heaviest tracks on this album. ‘The Downward Spiral’ shows us the lyrical side of this release as the main focus is on the female vocals. In the mid-tempo track ‘Finest Wine’ a rather voluminous keyboard part is also added. My favorite track on this album would be ‘Poisoned Temptation’ which is a bit sinister and remarkably reminiscent of the sound of the first releases of THE SINS OF THY BELOVED. There's once again drive and a loaded sound in ‘Hear my Call’, but clearly more prominent keyboards in ‘Visions’ making the melodic aspect stand out once again. ARCANE RAIN's track-mascot ‘The Raven’ enchants with its melancholic mood and interesting structure. ‘Shadows of the Past’ presents a memorable motif making it a successful epilogue of the album.
In general, the whole album sounds quite harmonious, massive, and one might even say atmospheric – all in all, it's particularly interesting for those who're fond of the already mentioned bands TRISTANIA and DRACONIAN.
Tracklist
01. Welcome to…
02. Your Own Hell
03. The Downward Spiral
04. The Finest Wine
05. Poisoned Temptation
06. Hear my Call
07. Visions
08. The Raven
09. Shadows of the Past
Line-up
Annka – Vocals
Oliver – Vocals
Lars – Bass
Markus – Guitars
Roman – Keyboards
Moritz – Drums
Website
http://www.arcanerain.de / https://www.facebook.com/Official-Arcane-Rain-167090396767364/
Cover Picture
Rating
Music: 7
Sound: 7
Total: 7 / 10
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