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There are albums you really don't know what to think about; a challenge. There are albums that leave you baffled, in awe. There are instant classics and there are those that you immediately know you wouldn't like; not because there is anything inherently wrong with them, but because they don't scratch your surface, so to speak.
This and more; lack of originality in metal music is now officially a disease, an epidemic spreading like wildfire. In a crowded and over-populated (saturated) scene such as the metal one – be it in any given subgenre of metal – it is not an easy task to maintain a level of singularity. I understand that. I also comprehend the musicians have to work harder, think harder in order to yield something worth listening to. So what!? Being discouraged by repeated plagiarism (intentional or otherwise) does not add points of artistic integrity nor honoring anybody really.
Which brings us to The Arcane Order's sophomore album In The Wake Of Collisions: I don't know whether it's the fact the band is signed to Metal Blade Records (the biggest metal label in the world?! How underground might that be!) that lends their music that certain 'superstar' attitude; the lush and almost extravagant (pompous) production; or the fact their vocalist tries too hard, I'm disliking the whole album...
...Or my disliking this album may lay in the fact In The Wake Of Collisions sounds like something Soilwork did a decade ago, while originating this Scandinavian post-thrash metal thingy together with Meshuggah et al.... Or the fact that slight black-metal-ish spiced death/thrash has been perfected by the likes of Mutant and Myrkskog some eight years ago...
What I'm trying to say is this: better bands have tried and executed better (pioneering) albums experimenting with new(er), post-modern metal sounds, approaches and displays, ultimately offering better, stronger and more innovative albums which offered sheer power and vision. That being said, The Arcane Order offers a rather pale (in comparison) version of ultra new-school "death"-metal-meets-post-thrash with a healthy dose of blasts and rather enjoyable keyboards that boost the music.
But ultimately, this is really metal-for-beginners if there ever was one, and highly derivative at that; metal for teenagers who like their musical one-night-stand: it offers no added values, no vision, not a single drop of originality. If anyone is into this 'futuristic' metal sound, I'd strongly recommend Strapping Young Lad's 1997 opus City or Devin Townsend's amazing Physicist project.
| Tracklist |
| 1. Death Is Imminent |
| 2. Between Reason And Hubris |
| 3. The Serpent Tower |
| 4. Eruptions Of Red |
| 5. When Oceans Become Deserts (instrumental) |
| 6. Unleash The Tyrant |
| 7. The Reaping Reverence |
| 8. Sanctity Of Allegiance |
| 9. Horizons Buried |
: 48:44
| Buy other Arcane Order, the albums |
