Out July 2 on German label Trollmusic, De Arma's debut full-length Lost, Alien, and Forlorn is worth hearing. It mixes depressing, eighties-style goth material similar to Killing Joke, with lots of very lightly distorted guitars playing single strings that ring out in minor scales. I'm hearing a big Agalloch influence too. The vocals are comprised of both quality, harmonized singing and some black metal screams.
Perhaps most striking is the album's reserved use of samples that seemingly come out of nowhere. Without giving too much away, I'll just say that they leave you with a palpable feeling of dread. For me, it's great. Now, mixing that with these often seven-minute depressed epics is a little surprising. I'm used to hearing samples in really heavy metal and industrial music.
By the fifth track, "Behind These Filthy Panes," De Arma betrays their love of black metal, with some solid, mid-tempo blast beats. Good for metal lovers like me. The rest of it--mid-tempo depressing hard rock. Not really "extreme metal" like the bio on Trollmusic describes.
Solid drumming, solid guitars, solid vocals. Interesting and new way to use samples. Good songwriting. Great production, it sounds really polished.
Long songs, staying mostly in the same mood. This album doesn't break out of the one thing it's trying to do, which is okay. For people who are really depressed and loving it, this is probably a great album. It's just relentlessly depressing. There's no hope here, and yet no raging against the system either.
Perhaps most striking is the album's reserved use of samples that seemingly come out of nowhere. Without giving too much away, I'll just say that they leave you with a palpable feeling of dread. For me, it's great. Now, mixing that with these often seven-minute depressed epics is a little surprising. I'm used to hearing samples in really heavy metal and industrial music.
By the fifth track, "Behind These Filthy Panes," De Arma betrays their love of black metal, with some solid, mid-tempo blast beats. Good for metal lovers like me. The rest of it--mid-tempo depressing hard rock. Not really "extreme metal" like the bio on Trollmusic describes.
Solid drumming, solid guitars, solid vocals. Interesting and new way to use samples. Good songwriting. Great production, it sounds really polished.
Long songs, staying mostly in the same mood. This album doesn't break out of the one thing it's trying to do, which is okay. For people who are really depressed and loving it, this is probably a great album. It's just relentlessly depressing. There's no hope here, and yet no raging against the system either.
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