Maleficium Arungquilta - Trance for sister 4/5
Reviewed: 10-1-13
Tracklist:
1. Intro
2. Hypocrite
3. Nibiru
4. Snow
5. Do not love
6. Dark
7. Pierrot
8. Trance for sister
9. Crystal
10. Autumn
11. Storm
12. Give me back my life
|
Maleficium Arungquilta is a Russian-language symphonic gothic/darkwave metal band from Russia and this is their 3rd studio CD. The songs on the first half of the CD are generally fast, busy, crunchy, rocking often quite dramatic gothic metal with huge symphonic keys and various, often quirky, electronic touches; the songs on the 2nd half start to slow down somewhat and become more mellow as lush, soothing darkwave influences sprinkle the arrangements; bombastic gothic metal returns with a vengeance on the last 2 songs with even more pervasive epic electronica.
The vocals are a diverse mix of female and male, with the female vocals sung by their new vocalist Olesya Gurina. She has a very smooth, confident, melodic mezzo-soprano style with considerable nuance in her delivery, from simply pretty and soothing to almost fiercely dramatic. There are frequent clean male vocals which are deep, warm and pleasant, with contrasting extreme vocals which are quite unlike anything I’ve heard before: imagine a deranged munchkin from “The Wizard of Oz” hissing at you with a black metal rasp and you have a good idea; depending on my mood I find it hard to decide if these are the highlight or low point of the CD, but they are undoubtedly unique and intriguing and add to the mystique of the band.
Maleficium Arungquilta began as a darkwave/gothic rock band and carried many of the elements of this kind of music into ‘Trance for sister’, helping them to stand out a bit from the myriad of gothic metal bands out there; they also have strong songwriting skills, again honed from their first 2 CDs, with a knack for combining drama, catchiness and atmosphere in an engaging tapestry of diversity. They are recommended for the more adventurous fans of faster symphonic gothic metal, especially if odd vocals and diversity in mood are a draw.
CHRIS
MORE REVIEWS... FULL REVIEWS
MORE REVIEWS BY CHRIS... CHRIS
MAIN -
A -
B -
C -
D -
E -
F -
G -
H -
I -
J -
K -
L -
M -
N -
O -
P -
Q -
R -
S -
T -
U -
V -
W -
X -
Y -
Z -
MISC
Email: metalcdratings@yahoo.com
