Arceye
At First Light
TBC
2013
Four years after their debut release “The Divide Between Chaos & Order”, Arceye are back with their second, more mature & updated in every part album. This band is the epitome of extreme metal. They have blended heavy, thrash metal, death metal, progressive, groovy metal elements along with melodic & acoustic parts very harmonically so I do not think that putting them under any tag is easy or representative of their music style. They have taken their debut sound a step further and even the production is a killer. Working with a producer like Scott Atkins (Sylosis, Cradle of Filth, Gamma Bomb, Amon Armarth) is always a plus for any band. They hit right on the spot here.
The first homonymous track showcases all the features mentioned above. An excellent sample of raw power, brutality &heaviness is what you are about to experience on this album. Arceye did another smart move in order to break the monotony that most heavy/death/brutal releases have. They have “planted” several short instrumental acoustic/melodic tunes here and there on their tracklist. In that way they keep the listener’s interest throughout the album. “Sirius” is the longest instrumental track, which shows a very melodious & soft side of the band. Do not be carried away though, not for a sec for an attack of brutality awaits you right after! “Damage Done” probably gives a taste of the band’s future musical approach or what?! Who knows?! We’ve seen numerous such cases in the past so why not. I like this tune a lot… and believe me with songs like that the band can widen their fan base very easily.
Were I to describe “At First Light” with only a few words I would call it an extremely brutal, heavy, vigorous & melodic album. Arceye is not your average melodic death metal band. They are crafting their own way and they do have the potential to go further if they play their cards well. Even though I’m not so much into “extreme/death metal” music anymore, I can actually say that I enjoyed this album a lot. I’m sure those who are fond of extreme, brutal yet melodic heavy music will revel in it as well. I’m eager to see where the band will go from here for I sense they can also overwhelm us nicely in the future. “At First Light” outdoes most of the “widely advertised albums” by the big bands of the extreme metal genre… and I’m not laying it on a bit thick!
The first homonymous track showcases all the features mentioned above. An excellent sample of raw power, brutality &heaviness is what you are about to experience on this album. Arceye did another smart move in order to break the monotony that most heavy/death/brutal releases have. They have “planted” several short instrumental acoustic/melodic tunes here and there on their tracklist. In that way they keep the listener’s interest throughout the album. “Sirius” is the longest instrumental track, which shows a very melodious & soft side of the band. Do not be carried away though, not for a sec for an attack of brutality awaits you right after! “Damage Done” probably gives a taste of the band’s future musical approach or what?! Who knows?! We’ve seen numerous such cases in the past so why not. I like this tune a lot… and believe me with songs like that the band can widen their fan base very easily.
Were I to describe “At First Light” with only a few words I would call it an extremely brutal, heavy, vigorous & melodic album. Arceye is not your average melodic death metal band. They are crafting their own way and they do have the potential to go further if they play their cards well. Even though I’m not so much into “extreme/death metal” music anymore, I can actually say that I enjoyed this album a lot. I’m sure those who are fond of extreme, brutal yet melodic heavy music will revel in it as well. I’m eager to see where the band will go from here for I sense they can also overwhelm us nicely in the future. “At First Light” outdoes most of the “widely advertised albums” by the big bands of the extreme metal genre… and I’m not laying it on a bit thick!