Arcane Sun

[J.]

well, if it anything like the cover, I might go ahead and get it. or if it has one of their better lyrics or something

 

[Erik]

The description on the site says something about knives.

 

[Erik]

By the way, I'm listening to the album for the second time today and I think I am beginning to grasp its greatness.

 

[Black Winter Day]

no you're not... an inferior person such as yourself can never grasp it

 

[J.]

Excellent. Muchly good.

I love the vocalist's voice, and have been trying to find out if he's been on any other recordings. THe most I've found out is that he is now in a band called Eden Obscured, but with no released material.

 

[J.]

alright Jay. We anxiously await your input.

 

[JayKeeley]

Oh man, I feel rushed! OK I've heard it twice now, but I want to listen to it once more to pass better judgement. That damn Aeternus keeps getting in the way! Later today I'll update this thread, I promise.

 

[JayKeeley]

JayKeeley: You might as well get in line on EBAY for this. It has your name written all over it. There are elements of doom (early Katatonia and Anathema), death (mostly melodic), black (sort of Emperor 'Anthems'), and even prog metal (I'm actually sensing Fates Warning influences) on it. It's a little hard to compare them to one band, since they have a broad range of styles. Some of the stuff is a little like your beloved Empyrium.

OK so here is my take. I'll quote npearce too since he pretty much nailed it above.

Personally, I think it leans slightly more to early Anathema - the tone of the guitars etc are very similar to those found on Serenades. You know, it's a little 'dirty'. To give Arcane Sun some credit though, they are extremely unique. It's difficult to pinpoint a specific similarity to another band but I also agree with npearce's genre comparisons, and would probably settle with something simple like 'Progressive Doom' just for the hell of it.

I've heard it three times now, and I can tell there is much more to absorb. The vocals are good, although at times, the clean vocals are *just* a little off, and tracks 4 & 5 perhaps kill the momentum. "Avatar" gets a tad repetitive, and "We Stood with Time" might be a little too long for what it is (piano instrumental). The use of all the instruments, however, is really good. What's most impressive though are the song structures - the percussion throughout is excellent.

I'm really glad npearce brought up the Empyrium example as well, also because Doom has both this and Songs of Moors... in his top 5 albums of all time. I know you're all bored with me going on about Empyrium, but I have a penchant for them in the gay way. Dreamlord - I will guarantee that you will like Songs of Moors... and for the record, it's extremely different to Weiland in that it has many more metal elements to it in the way Arcane Sun leverages.

In any case, I think the Arcane Sun album is excellent, and I look forward to hearing it more. The exciting part is that I'll probably love it even more in a few months.

 

[Erik]

It's a piano song, but it ain't an instrumental... I like it.

 

[J.]

I think We Stood With Time is one of the best songs on the album. It's much more than a simple interlude that many bands use. Like Erik said, it is a song with the piano being the main instrument. The vocals on that song are quite effective.

 

[JayKeeley]

OK what about the rest of my comments?????????

EDIT: Better still, Dreamlord, if you have a review already for it, can you cut & paste it here?

 

[J.]

no, I don't have a review for it.....not anywhere I know of at least. But the tag "Progressive Doom" is fitting.

 

[JayKeeley]

That's your favourite album of all time, and you never reviewed it?! How many people have you turned on to it now?

 

[J.]

I probably reviewed it at some point, but bugger me if I know where it is. I've gotten at least a good 8-9 people to buy the album.

 

[Black Winter Day]

thats like... 60% of their sales, no?

 

[J.]

yeah, probably. And a shame too. If the album had been released on a quality label, and given proper distribution, it probably would not have gone unnoticed. As it stands, it is a cult release.

 

[Erik]

There is no better feeling (other than getting laid) to a metal fan than stumbling upon a wonderful new band. However, if that new band is entirely original, then that same metal fan feels like he has stumbled upon the Holy Grail itself.

Such was the case when I finally got my hands on the Arcane Sun debut. Being a huge fan of all things Irish (green pastures, Cruachan, big mugs of beer, Waylander, red-headed lasses, Primordial), I was ecstatic to find that Arcane Sun, were indeed, from Ireland. When the CD finally arrived, I popped the CD in the player faster than a pimply-faced nerd blows his load on his first Playboy. Now, I am going to be honest here. I usually listen to music while doing something else (reading, playing video games, cooking, jack……er, you get the idea). One minute into “Canto I (the search)”, I was mesmerized, and everything around me simply disappeared.

The music displayed here is quite the enigma. Like I said, it is original, so it is hard to draw comparisons to any one genre or band, but I will do my best. Arcane Sun influences range from doom metal to black metal to death metal to classical music. I know that is a very broad description, but hey, it’s the truth.

The vocalist, Paul, uses stellar clean vocals, black metal rasps, death metal growls, and whispers. Let me tell you, this guy stands with or exceeds the best of them in any vocal department. Mikael Akerfeldt, move aside please.

Paul’s vocal talent is clearly evident in the song “I was Alive Then….”. A true epic. The guitar playing in this song is top-notch, creating layers of dense atmosphere. Then, before you know it, “Sundrenched (beneath the very skies we sought)” starts in a death metal flurry. This song goes from death metal to doom metal, back to death metal, then ending with Paul’s powerful clean vocals crooning “SUNDRENCHED”.

The song “Avatar” has a mid-section of acoustic guitars, and then comes the crushing guitar in a doom-laden pace, then ends with a piano passage. “We Stood With Time” was the big surprise for me. This song is a magnificent piano piece exceeding anything Opeth have ever attempted in this arena. The icing on the cake in this song is the use of angelic male vocals in the background.

The biggest stand out of the ten songs is easily “Longing for Edens Rain (and winters end)”. This song has to be heard by all metal fans. I can guarantee total satisfaction. That is all I will say about this song.

The album then ends with an ambient piece called “Promised (so many years have passed). This song ends the emotionally exhausting Arcane Sun in fine form.

The only gripe I have about this album is the lyric sheet. It is near impossible to follow along with the vocalist. Not because he is hard to understand, but because the songs in the booklet are out of order, and the lyrics don’t follow the songs sometimes. However, in light of music like this, that is a minor gripe. At least the front cover is beautiful.

Ars Metalli was supposed to release Arcane Sun’s second album, Fade, but the record label backed out at the last minute. That is what I heard, and I’m sure there is more to the story, but I simply don’t know. What I do know is that there is possibly another classic sitting on a shelf because some damn record label won’t release it. At least we have the debut to marvel over.

In this day and age, it takes an album of gargantuan talent and expertise to really blow me away.

An album for the Gods.

Glad to be of service

 

[J.]

God, I suck. At reviewing and remembering what I reviewed.

 

[JayKeeley]

Wow, and that review contains paragraphs!

 

[J.]

Alright, so who's going to win this one:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=4000659773&category=1574

It seems Arcane Sun's might be getting a little more well-known. A while back someone won their CD for a whole $15.50 on eBay instead of the usual $6, haha.