The Arcanum

Holy shit ! And I've almost missed that one... Not a new album, but rather a year old (more or less). My ears have come across that pure jewel of melodic aggression, and I had to review it. A very good surprise. I didn't knew that band but I liked the artcover so I decided to give it a try... well, I'm glad I'm did cause I would have missed one of the best melodic black / death album of 2000. The black metal touch isn't too present (fortunately, otherwise I wouldn't have liked it), actually it's more the legacy of some drumming part that can define Suidakra as Black Metal, otherwise they sound more like In Flames meet Eternal Tears Of Sorrows with a lot of acoustic moments and Celtic touches. The vocals are very aggressive, halfway between In Flames (first albums) and Arch Enemy (the last one, still unreleased in Europe if I'm not mistaken), with some deep growls. The riffs are sharp and deliver wonderful aggressiveness. Some excellent acoustic parts (and tracks) that adds more depth to the songs and a more epic and Celtic touch to Suidakra's music. The acoustic tracks reminds me Blind Guardian from time to time, and they help make a little break between the very aggressive songs. This album is like a bulldozer, ramming everything that stands on its way, with its beautiful Celtic melodies and the aggressive vocals doubled by strong riffs !!! So that's with a year late that I present you that masterpiece, but look at the bright side, if like me you discover this band now (through this review), then the wait for their next album shouldn't be too long, at least I hope so ! One more fantastic album to add to my "aggressive" list of masterpieces on which you can find Clayman (In Flames), Hatebreeder (COB), Wages Of Sin (Arch Enemy), Haven (Dark Tranquility) ... and a few more :) ! A must have of the genre my friends, a must have...