|
|
|
|
A lot of musicians and
successful bands have side-projects where they are working with music
that
doesn't fit the image of their current band. Sometimes these side-projects
never gets
past the demo stage and sometimes they turn out as nothing special
but this is not the case
with Alas who has now released their debut album on
the Dutch Hammerheart Records. This band
is the side-project of none other
than Erik Rutan (Morbid Angel, Hate Eternal) and with
the addition of Martina
Astner (Therion), Howard Davis (Genitorturers, Die Krupps) and
Scott Hornick,
a Berkley trained bass player he has created something completely
different
than what he normally does. The guitar sound is a little similar to
that of Morbid Angel but
the style is more rhythmical, slower and much more
jazzy. The melodies also very nicely follow the
beautifully serene soprano
vocals from Martina Astner which has garnered Therion albums
so gracefully
before. Alas comes as a fresh new breath of air into a metal world full
of
bands who follow in the same old footprints of old heroes like Bathory,
Black Sabbath (ok,
how can you not follow them and still be metal but
anyway...) and others. It is also very nice
to see a black man like Howard
Davis in a metal band because this is a genre that often
is accused of racism
and the likes. This is a thousand
times better than what can be expected from
a debut album and it may very well become
THE newcomer of the year although
there is five or six months left of it. Martina has one
of the most beautiful
voices in the whole world of metal and I think they could benefit
from
creating even stronger vocal melodies for her next time. It feels as if
Alas can develop even further
and become a new big name to remember. Not to
forget is the exceptional cover art designed
by the multi-talented Niklas
Sundin of Dark Tranquillity.
| Tracklist |
:
| Buy other Alas albums |
