Solid Stuff
The first thing that will hit the listener when they listen to The Arcane Order's new album, 'In The Wake Of Collisions', is the huge sound. A dramatic opening begins this metal journey with a guitar attack that will strip the paint off your radiator. The drums and bass could almost be joined at the hip they are so tight. The whole production is reminiscent of In Flames and Soilwork only heavier because The Arcane Order add layers of delicious keyboards and orchestration to add extra depth and power to the already thrashing style of music.
I've heard the above attempted several times with mixed results, but 'In The Wake Of Collisions' is one of the best examples of brutal metal and orchestration living in perfect harmony. At times it can remind you of Strapping Young Lad because the power, speed, riffs are all prevalent and coherent even though the album, for the most part, is a wall of noise. It's as if the band/producer have been through that painstaking process of getting ever note, every pluck, every beat, every string, every vocal part correct. If this is the case then it shows and makes The Arcane Order sound mightily impressive even before you get to grips with the songs.
This album is very heavy and unrelenting in its delivery. It's certainly heavier than In Flames and Soilwork, and is perhaps on a par with Strapping Young Lad. But whereas Strapping Young Lad provide hooks and melody, The Arcane Order stick very closely within their safe zone and write 9 songs that do the same sort of thing. Vocalist Kasper Thomsen from Raunchy provides the vocals and screams and shouts his way through the whole running time, providing little in the way of variation. One could argue that the music requires such a style but it also makes them uninteresting and one-dimensional. 'Unleash The Tyrant' does provide a little more guttural shouting, but this doesn't make the vocals any more likeable.
The songs themselves are based on the same nucleus. There's lots of thrashing, simple but effective riffing and crazy drums all wrapped up in a fabulous production. 'Between Reason And Hubris' and 'Eruptions Of Red' are the album's strongest points and could stand shoulder to shoulder with the best of this style of music. Sadly the rest of the album is a little too samey and it ends up coming across as style over substance. The band can obviously play, there are some nice solos, octopus drumming and angst screaming, but the album causes you to drift off about half way through. You'll keep coming back to 'In The Wake Of Collisions' however, for the simple reason that it sounds magnificent, and hell, that could be enough for some of you.