Dakrya - Monumento 3.5/5
Reviewed: 9-26-08
Tracklist:
1. Crucifixion of faith
2. Thorns of punishment
3. Newborn hope
4. Reflections and illusions
5. Waters of oblivion
6. Inner scream
7. Revelations of a madman
8. Into the vortex
9. Black opera
10. Wingless souls (bonus track)
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Those who regularly follow my writing know that I've recently complained about the lack of new bands with the "beauty and the beast" vocal style, and the fact that many of the bands that started the style have been killing the "beast", dropping their heaviness, and have basically headed in a more commercial direction. So I was surprised and excited to learn that there was a new band from Greece, Dakrya, that was very much in the "beauty and the beast" style and that they had just released their full-length debut 'Monumento'.
Thankfully, this truly is the case. Dakrya offers up a well done "beauty and the beast" vocal style, and musically, wanders to many sides of metal, including gothic metal, symphonic metal, atmospheric metal, and there are even a few black metal passages. As for comparisons, think of the early material from Theatre of Tragedy, Sirenia, Macbeth and Tristania, add a solid dose of Penumbra, and there are even some similarities to Satyrian and Catafalque. These are all some of the bands that I consider to be the best of the style (though some are past, some are present), so adding Dakrya to the list is definitely a pleasure.
Dakrya has 6 members, and 3 of them are female. Firstly, Sophia (with no last name given) provides the keys/piano, and she's also the band's founder. The other 2 female members are the vocalists, Christina and Thomais (also with no last names given). Christina has what I'd call a regular voice, while Thomais is more in the soprano range and obviously has a classical background. The 2 vocalists sound great together, are overall similar to the vocalists from the band Coronatus, and when you add the "beast" vocals (which are very strong), everything's in place for a well done "beauty and the beast" style performance.
'Monumento' is one of those CDs where most of the songs hover around the level of greatness, without quite blowing me away. I definitely have a favorite song however, and that is track 5 "Waters of oblivion", believe it or not because the "beast" vocals are awesome and they embedded themselves in my head the first listen. Overall, the CD is very consistent as far as quality, and there aren't any parts/songs on the CD that are boring or weak. The CD also takes us on a journey through many emotions, and this is something that I've always liked about the style in general.
For fans of the "beauty and the beast" vocal style that have been disappointed in the fact that there are less bands these days that provide the style, 'Monumento' is going to be a great CD for you to add to your collection, but I'm confident that you won't find the CD to be one of your absolute favorite's of all time. The truth is however, it's going to be extremely hard for new bands to match the high level of some of the CDs from the many aforementioned bands, so maybe it's best to enjoy CDs like this one for the simple fact that they're carrying on a style that we love. At least that's the feeling I've had, and I enjoy this debut and appreciate it for what it is.
CLINT
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