We go in Greece with 'Vault of Acanthus' which is a group formed in 2011 and which released a first EP in 2013. 2018 sees the release of their first LP 'Life, Light and Darkness' : their style is between rock and metal with symphonic and progressive components, beautiful and accessible melodic lines and compositions lasting between 6 and 10 minutes. 'Thread of Fate' starts the album in a symphonic atmosphere where the keyboards and the guitar are at the same level and where some growls come to join the singing of 'Aggeliki Antoniadi', this first title being perhaps the most tagged metal. Indeed, follows 'A Constant End' which despite a tempo marked by chords saturated of guitar is a beautiful and very sensual blues even in the guitar solo. The chorus of 'The Hope Inside Me' makes me think of some songs from one of my favorite bands, 'Edenbridge' (see their latest album here) as well as the 'This Face' ballad. The last title 'Life, Light, and Darkness' is a composition that offers a progressive approach with breaks of rhythms and several nested parts and which has a wonderful finale. In summary, the Greeks of 'Vault of Acanthus' release a quality album with beautiful melodic compositions where the symphonic atmosphere coexists beautifully with the saturated guitar riffs and 'Life, Light and Darkness' is for me one of the most good surprises 2018... | |
