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Arcane Dimension is a Bay Area based American gothic metal band, their debut album "In Ecstasy & Sorrow" was released in 2005. For starters, this band is strongly influenced by the European scene and they are not shy about listing such legendary acts as Theatre of Tragedy & the Gathering as prominent figures in their sound. Interestingly, the band seems to be more of a duo than an actual “band” centering on the vocal talents of Teresa Camp with Jarek Tatarek handling the guitars, and other arrangements, which by these ears sound like keyboards and drums. Musically there are some good things happening, the vocals in particular stand out, with Camp’s voice igniting sorrowful melodies which would make the sternest of men shudder. The lyrics seem to draw from personal experiences and you can hear this coming out in the singing. As far as the actual music itself, it seems to be more of a “hit or miss” scenario. There are certain sequences when everything gels together, like the keyboards and guitars during the opening moments of the 7 minute song “The Art of Dreaming’. There are also a couple of cool guitar riffs here and there, but overall the playing is somewhat bland and there is not enough happening to entertain a listener for the duration. The drums on the other hand, are barely noticeable. This brings me to the major problem with In Ecstasy & Sorrow, the production of the record as a whole. The mix is extremely poor and sounds like it was recorded on ancient equipment. This is unfortunate because I would probably recommend this record to fans of gothic/atmospheric metal if it sounded clear. Yet the fact is that it is so unclear, it’s extremely difficult to listen to one song, let alone get through the whole disc. So while the sound quality is atrocious, the songs themselves are actually not bad & there is definitely some potential. I think with some better production next time around Arcane Dimension could be on to something.
| Tracklist |
| 1. Intro |
| 2. In Ecstasy & Sorrow |
| 3. Somewhere Nowhere |
| 4. The Art Of Dreaming |
| 5. Dance In The Woods |
| 6. Never |
| 7. Within & Beyond |
| 8. Questioning Lies |
| 9. Echoes |
| 10. Ashes To Dust |
| 11. Whale's Cry |
: 57.32
| Buy other Arcane Dimension albums |
