I did not know the Lebanese Ostura 'who had already released a first studio recording in 2012 and I discovered them with this 2nd opus 'The Room' which I quote 'Elia Monsef' « The Room tells the story of a social recluse girl who takes refuge in an empty room. Through her imagination the room becomes a world of her creation where she is God. Once the creations gain awareness, comes the conflict between the creator and the created and the internal struggle between the girl and her broken mind ». Not easy to describe briefly 'The Room' so much this album is dense on all levels. First of all, if I had to give a musical style to locate them, I would say that it is progressive metal but it is obviously very reductive because they draw their influences far beyond because they mix styles as different as classical music, film music, progressive music and symphonic music, all finely balanced between oriental and western sounds. For this reason, it is very difficult on the whole to refer to a specific group because each title alternates different moods and rhythms. For example, just in the single title 'Escape', I could cite influences from 'Stream Of Passion' (the introduction), from ‘Epica' (the voice of 'Youmna' on the first sung part reminiscent of 'Simone Simons'), from ‘Avantasia' (the epic central part and the song of ‘Elia Moussef ') and ‘Ayreon' (on the instrumental parts and the very melodic final). Then, 'Ostura' did not do things in half because they called on a prestigious ensemble of guests as varied as ‘Arjen Lucassen' (not surprising knowing that he had launched 'Stream Of Passion'), the eclectic 'Thomas Lang' in the rhythm section, but also to add classical instruments, violinists, a cellist, a flutist and an oudist, and to top it off, the intervention of the orchestra of the Prague city (often used by metal artists) and the Lebanese film ensemble. To this, we can add a flawless production of 'Jens Bogren' who works with a multitude of groups (among others 'Orphaned Land', 'Angra' or 'Symphony X'). We could cite all the titles because each brings their own story but, for short, I'll talk about the title 'Duality' of more 12 minutes which is a good summary of the album : an introduction with strings and percussion that precedes a rhythmic part where the flute is put forward and after some oriental sounds, a first melodic metal part sung masterfully by 'Elia Monsef' who alternates power and relaxation with the voice of 'Youmna Jreissati' which is added in the chorus, then an acceleration of the title for an instrumental part guitar/keyboards where choruses are grafted. The sequel still holds us good surprises with a complete rupture that embarks us in the singing a capella of Youmna in a palpable emotion that precedes a final starting calmly with an acoustic guitar that gives way to a magnificent guitar solo and then the whole unleashes into a grandiose finale with a lot of choruses to finish calmly in some piano chord : it's really a magical title that transports you and has given me goosebumps on a number of occasions. Certainly, such a density can not be digested at once and 'The Room' requires a lot of listenings to discover every nook and cranny and also requires some musical openness. In summary, as you will understand, 'Ostura' is for me an exceptional album and without going too far, one of the major releases of 2018 which should improve as the good wine listen after listen (generally sign of a high quality) and if you are a lover of progressive metal that mixes different styles, this album is for you... | |
