THE PROVENANCE - STILL AT ARMS LENGTH
Scarlet Records/The End Records - 2003
By Rodrigo Escandon
The sophomore release Still at Arms Lenghth by Sweden's The Provenance is a combination of seventies progressive elements as well as drawing from the death, gothic and doom metal genres to create an album that will appeal to fans of The Gathering, My Dying Bride and Opeth. Now the purpose of showing you this comparison is to show what one can expect from this album but the truth of the matter is that The Provenance delivers such a strong and unique album that they can stand on their own.
The vocals are done beautifully and feature both male and female voices. The male singing alters from harsh death metal style to a softer and cleaner tone, while the female voice has an uncanny resemblance to Anneke of The Gathering. No matter how the singing is done, the emotion and beauty of the vocals is powerful. The song structures are what remind me of Opeth, they way the band moves from a heavier passage to softer acoustic interludes and with various tempo changes as seen in "At Random Choose". The use of the keyboards and especially the sound of them is quite unique and that is where the comparison to the prog bands of the seventies comes from. Yet there is still another element to compare to those bands such as Jethro Tull and that is the beautiful use of a flute in songs like the Eastern influenced and slithery "Carnival of Descent" and the slow, dark and beautiful instrumental "The Ardberg Experience". This instrument is used as a focal point in these songs to drive the melodies and the first time I heard this I was seriously amazed about how great something so simple could sound in a metal band.
Still at Arms Length is an excellent avant-garde metal album and it is perfect for those of you looking for some depth in their music. Highly recommended.
Scarlet Records Website
The End Records Website
The Provenance Official Website
Scarlet Records/The End Records - 2003
By Rodrigo Escandon
The sophomore release Still at Arms Lenghth by Sweden's The Provenance is a combination of seventies progressive elements as well as drawing from the death, gothic and doom metal genres to create an album that will appeal to fans of The Gathering, My Dying Bride and Opeth. Now the purpose of showing you this comparison is to show what one can expect from this album but the truth of the matter is that The Provenance delivers such a strong and unique album that they can stand on their own.
The vocals are done beautifully and feature both male and female voices. The male singing alters from harsh death metal style to a softer and cleaner tone, while the female voice has an uncanny resemblance to Anneke of The Gathering. No matter how the singing is done, the emotion and beauty of the vocals is powerful. The song structures are what remind me of Opeth, they way the band moves from a heavier passage to softer acoustic interludes and with various tempo changes as seen in "At Random Choose". The use of the keyboards and especially the sound of them is quite unique and that is where the comparison to the prog bands of the seventies comes from. Yet there is still another element to compare to those bands such as Jethro Tull and that is the beautiful use of a flute in songs like the Eastern influenced and slithery "Carnival of Descent" and the slow, dark and beautiful instrumental "The Ardberg Experience". This instrument is used as a focal point in these songs to drive the melodies and the first time I heard this I was seriously amazed about how great something so simple could sound in a metal band.
Still at Arms Length is an excellent avant-garde metal album and it is perfect for those of you looking for some depth in their music. Highly recommended.
Scarlet Records Website
The End Records Website
The Provenance Official Website
