Review: ARS ONIRICA – I: Cold

Year of release: 2019
Label: BadMoodMan Music
Rating: 7,6 / 10

Italian metal is almost always bad, but in this case it’s quite good. The debut album of ARS ONIRICA from the very first song catches you hardly and confidently: the immortal rock-and-roll percussion rhythm, a delightful atmospheric melody in the vein of PARADISE LOST - beautiful! Recently, I briefly reviewed a very similar album from HELEVORN, also released by BadMoodMan Music, and I should note that the work of the Italians is WAY better. The melodiousness of the album does not take away it's heaviness, and technical stuff and clean vocals are kept on a short pretext so that they do not turn the music into a faggotry. ARS ONIRICA managed to achieve their goal using simple means of expression - it is always beautiful. It is surprising how well the canvas woven by guitars and synthesizer falls into memory. Albums with such memorable songs come across today less often than people who can pronounce the name of the band PARACOCCIDIOIDOMICOSISPROCTITISSARCOMUCOSIS in one breath.

Unfortunately, the stick in the wheels of the album is inserted by vocals that instantly show the Italian origin. How well the southerners sing in opera and other power metals, and how bad they sing in extreme styles. This clumsy and ragged voice of the vocalist is not the worst thing I've heard in life, but all the other components of the album, no doubt, are at a much higher level of professionalism and quality. However, the vocals are not devoid of sincerity, I give 'em that. And the death metal roar is also good. Another drawback of the album, albeit a minor one, is the predictability of the development of the compositions. In the second half of each of them, a long acoustic part starts, followed by a climax, which includes a lot of pathos and a mandatory guitar solo. Of course, this is a classic recipe, but it was possible to retreat from it once or twice.

In general, ARS ONIRICA made a very good debut - without any doubts, I will say that this is one of the few recent albums from Solitude / BadMoodMan which are definitely worthy of purchase. Even despite the vocals.