I am not particularly attracted to extreme metal and I much prefer the clear vocals to the growls, but it must be said that with the last album 'Dyana' of the band 'MaYan', 'Mark Jansen' ('Epica') has put every effort and thanks to crowdfunding, was able to set up a distribution that many groups of metal would envy (among others 'Marcela Bovio' ex 'Stream of Passion' see here and in a classical style his first solo album here) with icing on the cake the participation of the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra , customary to collaborate with the international metal scene. The result is quite surprising because you really need to take the opus as a set especially since, as usual, Mark has developed a concept album that this time looks at a philosophical topic : is it, contrary to what 'Descartes' said, 'Cogito ergo sum' (I think so I am), the thoughts that turn in our head that we identify with would not be harmful to find happiness and would be disconnected from what we are, turning us into an observer of our thinking ? In terms of music, 'Dhyana' is an album with a remarkable density and with an impressive work of orchestration and vocal harmonies in a very epic and symphonic style and obviously on some titles, the resemblance is striking with ' Epica '(for example' Rebirth from Despair 'or' The Power Process ') but we could also mention certain melodic lines of 'Therion' as in 'The Illusory Self' with the vocal of 'Laura Macri' which is close to 'Lorie Lewis' (see the extraordinary metal opera of 'Christopher Johnsson' here). But the richness of this album is also in the variety of titles because, only in the first 4, we go from a grandiose and symphonic 'The Rhythm of Freedom' to 'Tornado of Thoughts' where we find ourselves in in an oriental atmosphere then the epic 'Saints Do not Die' borrows from the classical music world while 'Dyana' is a stripped ballad where 'Laura Macrì' and 'Marcela Bovio' form a magnificent duet. We can also note a second part in an instrumental version that highlights the importance of the philharmonic orchestra and thank you for 'Mark Jensen' to have held good while his record company offered him to do without. In summary, although 'Dyana' will no doubt remain for a averting public who are fans of symphonic metal and extreme metal, this latest installment of 'MaYan' under the leadership of 'Mark Jansen' is a total success and will remain probably one of the best 2018 albums in this style... | |
