Poema Arcanus is one of the Chile's better known metal bands, and their 4th album Timeline Symmetry continues the band's legacy in crafting fairly memorable, death/doom. They've returned to their heavy roots, and musically this is a good record. I won't lie, I did occasionally get hung up on Claudio Carrasco García's vocals; when performing their guttural lows, they feel a little too expressive and grumbly; when clean, they recall Aaron Stainthorpe of My Dying Bride, only with García's regional accent. A very gothic intonation. Note that they're not bad vocals, just different, and took time getting used to.Although there are a lot of bands currently who work in the melodic death/doom feel, Poema's music feels ever so slightly more experimental, and I really enjoy how they mix up their rhythms. Tracks like "Mars Lullaby" and "Alter" are at once groovy, doom and progressive; check out the great use of the piano in the latter. The band can also forge an epic piece like the 8+ minute "By the Cliff" or the 9+ anthem "The Average Man's Odyssey", neither of which will ever lose the listener through their explorations, as the riffs are consistently effective past every twist and turn the songs take. But my favorite tracks on this album have to be the aggressive "Zoom to the Void", with its flowing, expressive bass, and the churning, slower "This Once Long Road", which is like a South American My Dying Bride...only better.
Timeline Symmetry sounds very good and will hopefully, finally get this band on the map. The guitars are deep and possess just the right amount of crunch, the bass is a central instrument to the compositions, and the drums are solid. The vocals were an acquired taste for me, but only on certain tracks. If you like My Dying Bride, Anathema, or the many other death/doom hybrids since, you can do a lot worse than check out this band.
Highlights: Mars Lullaby, By the Cliff, Zoom to the Void, This Once Long Road
Verdict: Win [7.5/10]
http://www.poemaarcanus.cl/
No comments:
Post a Comment