Arise From Thorns
Before an Audience of Stars
Self-released
It’s not often I have the pleasure of listening to an album that sounds original enough that I really don’t know what to compare it to, but this is one of them. Mostly moody and melancholy, gothic-feeling but not maudlin, Arise From Thorns also has a healthy dose of prog and doom/epic metal in several of the band members’ backgrounds. But really, the group is pretty much doing their own thing, and whatever it is, it’s damned good.
“Persia” is one of my favorite tracks, with its militant, accusatory guitar and drums driving the female vocalist’s beautiful, strong singing about a lover she caught cheating, together with some excellent synth and bass that takes you to another world. But the chilling, nine-minute “The Red and the Black” is the real standout on the album for me, with its very cool hand drum rhythms and cold, lonely synth giving the track a bleak feeling that is only deepened by the dark lyrics that might be about a lost love or a fallen angel or even Armageddon. About the only complaint I have about the album is that on a couple tracks, the guitarist seems to get a bit carried away with himself and solos rather pointlessly for a while. Aside from that, though, Arise From Thorns’ excellent and innovative instrumental work and outstanding female vocalist make them well worth checking out.
Arise from Thorns, P.O. Box 1077, Dale City, VA 22193; http://listen.to/arisefromthorns
