Cronian - Terra
Century Media - CD 77537-2 - 2006
By Philip Whitehouse
I've had a really hard time getting into this album. In fact, I'm still not really into it. I'm not sure why, since the last collaboration I heard between Mr. V and Osytein G. Brun (Borknagar's Empiricism) completely captivated me. The musicianship is, as one would expect where these two are involved, pretty much faultless. Okay, so the material itself - synth-heavy symphonic prog/black metal - doesn't exactly occupy a genre I consider myself a great fan of, but when I listen to this and think about it rationally, it's great music.
The arrangements shy away from overly-ornamental or baroque extremes, instead focusing on atmospheric and accessible movements that fit the arctic packaging well. Mr. V's harsh vocals provide background accompaniment to his stellar clean vocal work, his soaringly unique tone once again establishing him as a rare talent. Hell, even the programmed drums are far better than average, sounding for all the world just like a competently recorded triggered kit. The production is stellar, allowing the complex (but never ostentatious) arrangements to breath and, when the time is right, to completely envelop the listener. So what is it about Terra that just doesn't work for me?
I think it must be the fact that, despite how well put together the album is, however prodigious the talents involved in its creation and however meticulously each element has been assembled, Terra is fundamentally emotionally uninvolving. It's so atmospheric in it's icily remote way that it fades into the background of the listener's awareness, becoming as uniform and featureless as the windswept arctic tundras the lyrics and packaging invoke. Maybe that's what Mr. V and Oystein G. Brun were intending, and I'm just missing the point. Somehow, though, I doubt they were intending to write the elevator muzak for an Icelandic shopping centre. But that's what Terra comes across as to me.
5.5/10 (UM's Review Rating Scale)
Cronian's Official Website
Century Media's Official Website
Century Media - CD 77537-2 - 2006
By Philip Whitehouse
I've had a really hard time getting into this album. In fact, I'm still not really into it. I'm not sure why, since the last collaboration I heard between Mr. V and Osytein G. Brun (Borknagar's Empiricism) completely captivated me. The musicianship is, as one would expect where these two are involved, pretty much faultless. Okay, so the material itself - synth-heavy symphonic prog/black metal - doesn't exactly occupy a genre I consider myself a great fan of, but when I listen to this and think about it rationally, it's great music.
The arrangements shy away from overly-ornamental or baroque extremes, instead focusing on atmospheric and accessible movements that fit the arctic packaging well. Mr. V's harsh vocals provide background accompaniment to his stellar clean vocal work, his soaringly unique tone once again establishing him as a rare talent. Hell, even the programmed drums are far better than average, sounding for all the world just like a competently recorded triggered kit. The production is stellar, allowing the complex (but never ostentatious) arrangements to breath and, when the time is right, to completely envelop the listener. So what is it about Terra that just doesn't work for me?
I think it must be the fact that, despite how well put together the album is, however prodigious the talents involved in its creation and however meticulously each element has been assembled, Terra is fundamentally emotionally uninvolving. It's so atmospheric in it's icily remote way that it fades into the background of the listener's awareness, becoming as uniform and featureless as the windswept arctic tundras the lyrics and packaging invoke. Maybe that's what Mr. V and Oystein G. Brun were intending, and I'm just missing the point. Somehow, though, I doubt they were intending to write the elevator muzak for an Icelandic shopping centre. But that's what Terra comes across as to me.
5.5/10 (UM's Review Rating Scale)
Cronian's Official Website
Century Media's Official Website
