A great... power prog album, if that's what you'd call it
Matt Stoessel | Tolland, CT USA | 02/22/2004
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This isn't your typical Italian power metal. First of all, most of the Italian bands really play MELODIC power metal. Arachnes is closer to real power metal. The bass is very typical of Italy. Fairyland and Rhapsody come to mind greatly here. The vocalist is very typical for Italy, with the way they all hold onto a note at the end of every line they sing with that funny EeEeEeEe sounding thing that they do. I don't know what its called, but anybody familiar with these bands knows what I mean. The keyboards in this mostly sound like Star One's and Children of Bodom's keyboards, in the sense that they are mostly "riffs" - not atmospheric notes. If you're into atmospheric music, this will be harder for you to like. But, there is some of that atmosphericness on this album. Track 10 is a 3:40 or so instrumental (half of them are instrumental - think Warmen) song where you'll hear a lot of atmospheric keyboards. Its actually a classical sounding song. On one my favorites, My Son and I, you hear atmospheric keyboards as well. My 3 favorites are 11, 12, and 14. 12, My Son and I, is the lone ballad. I think it's the best song on the album, at least instrumentally. Also, this album is only 51:00 long! So, if you're buying this expecting a 70 minute album seeing that there are 15 songs, you're not going to get what you want. I strongly urge you to listen to this when its dark where you listen to your music. The keyboards (riff or atmospheric) are very nightish. Probably the only thing left to say is that the drum quality is my biggest complaint with the album. They actually pretty much detract from the rest of the album. They're not that good. So if you like Italian metal, or just melodic metal, this is truly a purchase that you won't regret... and its affordable, so go get it! When you get the time, go read some of my other reviews and say if they were helpful to you or not."
Track Listings (15) - Disc #1