SUIDAKRA EMPRISE TO AVALON
Century Media - 2002
By Rodrigo Escandon
So far one of the biggest surprises of this year has been Emprise to Avalon the fifth release by the German band Suidakra and their Century Media debut. For those of you unfamiliar with this band, the best way to describe them would be that they are a melodic death/folk metal band and this album definitely rivals any of the Swedish melodic death metal bands.
Suidakra is led by Arkadius who plays guitars, keyboards, bass and is the main vocalist. Apparently, the band lost three members from the past album but that doesnt necessarily means that its a bad thing since Suidakra has released their best album. Emprise to Avalon is a concept album based on the legend of King Arthur and the use of the folk music elements makes the entire package a lot stronger. The two shorter songs of the album Dinas Emrys and The Spoils of Annwn are excellent examples of the folk music dominating the songs as well as the acoustic instrumental And the Giants Dance This latter song also takes the prize as one of the best instrumentals of the year. It is an absolutely beautiful composition, kudos to the playing of Arkadius and Marcel in this one.
However, this album also has plenty of fast and heavy action to complent the softer passages. Like the opener Darkane Times which has a tremendous opening melody line that starts at 0:31 and then gives way to the all out razor sharp guitar attack in the verses and it also has a very cool and long guitar solo. Arkadius provides the death metal vocals while Marcel takes care of the clean vocals. Both split up the duties in this song and throughout the album. Pendragons Fall is just a melodic death metal classic and its without a doubt the best song on Emprise to Avalon. It has everything you require out of one of these songs like twin melodic guitars, brutal singing, fast and unrelenting drumming as well as the Suidakra twist for the middle half of the song where the tempo slows down and symphonic arrangements are in the background with acoustic guitars leading the way and Marcels singing providing a nice change from the harshness of Arkadius. The song ends wonderfully with more symphonic arrangements. The Highking continues the frantic pace and The Quest is another perfect example of the great combination of the dual singing styles and the use of folk music into the melodic death genre.
Suidakra is one of the most original bands in metal and its a shame more people dont know about them especially since they have been around for some time now. Hopefully by signing with Century Media it will provide them with the wider audience that they so rightfully deserve. I highly recommend Emprise to Avalon
Century Media Website
Suidakra Official Website
Century Media - 2002
By Rodrigo Escandon
So far one of the biggest surprises of this year has been Emprise to Avalon the fifth release by the German band Suidakra and their Century Media debut. For those of you unfamiliar with this band, the best way to describe them would be that they are a melodic death/folk metal band and this album definitely rivals any of the Swedish melodic death metal bands.
Suidakra is led by Arkadius who plays guitars, keyboards, bass and is the main vocalist. Apparently, the band lost three members from the past album but that doesnt necessarily means that its a bad thing since Suidakra has released their best album. Emprise to Avalon is a concept album based on the legend of King Arthur and the use of the folk music elements makes the entire package a lot stronger. The two shorter songs of the album Dinas Emrys and The Spoils of Annwn are excellent examples of the folk music dominating the songs as well as the acoustic instrumental And the Giants Dance This latter song also takes the prize as one of the best instrumentals of the year. It is an absolutely beautiful composition, kudos to the playing of Arkadius and Marcel in this one.
However, this album also has plenty of fast and heavy action to complent the softer passages. Like the opener Darkane Times which has a tremendous opening melody line that starts at 0:31 and then gives way to the all out razor sharp guitar attack in the verses and it also has a very cool and long guitar solo. Arkadius provides the death metal vocals while Marcel takes care of the clean vocals. Both split up the duties in this song and throughout the album. Pendragons Fall is just a melodic death metal classic and its without a doubt the best song on Emprise to Avalon. It has everything you require out of one of these songs like twin melodic guitars, brutal singing, fast and unrelenting drumming as well as the Suidakra twist for the middle half of the song where the tempo slows down and symphonic arrangements are in the background with acoustic guitars leading the way and Marcels singing providing a nice change from the harshness of Arkadius. The song ends wonderfully with more symphonic arrangements. The Highking continues the frantic pace and The Quest is another perfect example of the great combination of the dual singing styles and the use of folk music into the melodic death genre.
Suidakra is one of the most original bands in metal and its a shame more people dont know about them especially since they have been around for some time now. Hopefully by signing with Century Media it will provide them with the wider audience that they so rightfully deserve. I highly recommend Emprise to Avalon
Century Media Website
Suidakra Official Website
