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† And then the Curse swept the Earth

terça-feira, 3 de abril de 2012

Arms Of Ra "Unnamed" EP

After a well received EP back in 2010, the french post-core band Arms Of Ra are back, this time with a conceptual EP simply called "Unnamed". You probably have already seen this cover a hundred times and all over the blogs out there, since this came as a request from the label and from a band member itself i could not say "No!". Swarm Of Nails Records holds a dozen great bands and releases in their cartel and Arms Of Ra are no exception. I really liked the 2010's EP and this "Unnamed" EP caught me a little by surprise. I was told that this whole EP runs around the concept of a man who tries to deconstruct himself in order to disappear from society, and based on such strong concept i was really expecting more, but the band is still young and i know that, with time, they will grow better and better. At a first impression i can see that the band has finally found their own characteristic sound. This post-hardcore rubbing into sludge, a more cohesive and muscled sound in the bass, guitars and drum while the voice seems to get his own particular pitch into the hardcore/screamo fields going, from time to time, to a more low tone. I would like to have seen the band taking this great concept a little bit further, because at a first listening, and not knowing the whole concept behind it, i could never tell it is eventually conceptual. If i could catch some tracks and from there build a concept i guess i would choose the tracks: "Afterwards", "Unnamed" and "To be acknowledged is to exist". Maybe if the band had spent some time building some interludes like "Unnamed" between the tracks, it would reinforced the idea of a concept in the album. Besides that, it's a cohesive album, not memorable but.. in general, a good one. Away from the sound production, the whole environment in which this album revolves, is monochromatic, almost like a short film, shot in black and white whose main character is a man, a John Doe, that evaporates from society, right in the middle of a crowd. Check out this and other great releases from the guys at Swarm of Nails here and here. Follow the bands steps here.

Note: i fucked up by stating that the band belonged in Throatruiner Records, that is not true, they belong in the Swarm Of Nails cartel. My apologies to the band and to whom it may concern.


4 comentários:

  1. Thank you very much for the review. I always like to read honest reviews of our work.

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    Respostas
    1. You're welcome. Keep up the hard work! I know you guys can go further. Don't be pleased with the first result of your work, try to find flaws in it, if you find them.. improve them! Like the great La Fontaine once said:

      "By the work one knows the workman"

      Take care and cheers

      H

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  2. Thanks for the advices. We're already working on new songs right now and they're already sounding different from what we did on Unnamed. It's alright to be satisfied with one's work but when you keep repeating yourself, there is no need to continue, but that's not what we're trying to achieve. I'll be pleased to know your opinion about what we'll put out after.

    See ya and take care !

    ResponderEliminar
    Respostas
    1. Sure. I would love to hear new stuff from you. It's always good to see and listen the evolution that some bands take. I'm sorry for the fuck up Swarm Of Nails/Throatruiner.. I'm always receiving emails from them and i must got confused and associated them with Arms of Ra. Keep me updated and if by the way you got any side projects or other friends bands feel free to tell. I'm always looking for fresh stuff.

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