Vera: Persefone remains one of the undiscovered, secret gems of this European continent. Earlier they have released two amazing albums that should have forced a breakthrough – in normal conditions – but it did not cause that much ripples. In Japan it is different. Strangely enough the band seems to do it quite well over there and consequently albums are released in the land of the rising sun long before we get notice of them here. Anyway, is it a wonder that Persefone – they hail from Andorra – focused on a Japanese theme for their third album? Their previous album ‘Core’ was a concept album about the Greek goddess Persephone. ‘Shin-Ken’ is abased on ancient Japanese war stories. It did not affect the global Persefone sound too much: melodic death metal with progressive influences is what we hear.
‘Shin-Ken’ is a musical adventure that takes more than an hour. Well, you have to take the time for it – that’s the case with all progressive styled metal – but then you start to have moments of recognizing all into this mostly hectic music. The six-headed band serves us with loads of (short) contemplative moments in between all these hectic scale cataracts. Every time we meet up with a title including the word ‘book’, it stands for an instrumental introvert moment, one time it is relished with the Japanese esoteric chants of Ikue Asazaki. In between those “tea-moments” they swallow the bait. Chopping guitar riffs (thrash alike), mauling drums and loads of guitar solos may be fatiguing for most of the people, yet I told you this all before: this is Dream Theater on speed. Vocalist Marc Partins has a low-pitched growl, but he easily puts this aside for some scream-like black metal passages (and sometimes with a core edge now – please don’t do this Marc!). Keyboarder Miguel Espinosa smooths the whole thing with his warm, clean voice. Think of Mike Akerfeldt in a contemplative mood or Dan Swanö when using his common voice (‘Crimson’ album). This is a welcome variation and his contribution is huge.
The band deepens its progressive structures, but on the other hand they keep going for a merciless harsh approach. Just as on many fine albums it comes down on a perfect balance between hectic brutality and moments of reflection in reveries. Persefone is mastering this well. In addition they engaged a well-known specialist for the mix and mastering: Tommy Hansen took care of everything being in balance and regaled us with a standout sound. Sometimes I feel like a voice in the desert, but let’s hope that Persefone will get more recognition with ‘Shin-Ken’ and not only in Japan. They are worth checking out!
Maak home
Bookmark