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""Enigme" positions Etrange among the serious contenders for the title of progressive metal album of the year 2022 with six epic, technical and scathing instrumental tracks"
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4/5
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In 2019, a very strange duo made its first steps with a first album soberly named... "Etrange". Sober is not however the qualifier that best applies to the music of this french combo as the universe of the two companions leans towards the side of technical progressive metal. The band being purely a studio project, we had to wait three more years to see the follow-up of this promising first opus.
"Enigma" is released in 2022 with six new tracks. The will to propose an exclusively instrumental content could be surprising on the paper as the song allows indeed to give rhythm to the titles and to give them a content but here the total absence of vocals is not a handicap. The plurality of the atmospheres and especially the number of influences is absolutely impressive.
The album starts off with 'Entity', which is reminiscent of Liquid Tension Experiment and Dream Theater. The technicality is already at its peak as an avalanche of notes surges on the listener. The end of the track could remind Haken first period with sounds close to their track 'Eternal Rain'. To limit oneself to these influences would be on the other hand totally reductive as the two instrumentalists enjoy themselves by surveying still very different styles. From the galloping 'Nexus' which borrows rhythmics from Symphony X to the overpowering 'Gemini' which leans towards death metal with its fast blast beat, the band does not hesitate to wander in the most extreme sounds of metal.
Etrange is just as effective on the quieter tracks. Impossible not to mention 'Irradiance' and its funky bass or the impressive 'Möbius' with its neo-classical piano beginning and its more electro ambiances like "Stranger Things", always keeping this epic and symphonic vein. 'Gemini' allows us to travel in the middle of Egypt while the beginning of 'Eclipse' offers kitschy synths typical of the 80's but terribly timely. Whatever the intention, the six tracks of this album are always carried by a sharp sense of melody, like the sumptuous finale of 'Irradiance'.
Finally, a word about Deadale (guitars, bass) and Velhon (keyboards, programming, mixing and mastering), who both realize here a titanic work of a great cleanliness and a bewildering control. The production is excellent, and the richness of the arrangements let us believe that it is a whole group which plays so much the layers and the subtleties multiply from the first to the last second of listening.
By presenting their music as cinematic progressive metal, the two protagonists of Etrange are not mistaken. The multiplicity of the landscapes which are side by side and complete each other transport us on board a strange space probe. Therefore, "Enigme" is among the serious candidates for the title of progressive metal album of the year. It is certainly frustrating not to be able to see the wonderful world of Etrange on stage, but one can always dream and hope to attend one day one of the stage representations of this project which, in view of its hectic peregrinations, still promises us numerous and beautiful discoveries in the future. - Official website
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TRACK LISTING:
01. Entity - 07:53
02. Nexus - 08:14
03. Irradiance - 07:25
04. Gemini0 - 9:29
05. Möbius - 07:41
06. Eclipse - 07:35
LINEUP:
Deadale: Guitares / Basse
Velhon: Claviers / Programmation
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(0) COMMENT(S)
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READERS
3.5/5 (2 view(s))
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STAFF:
3.7/5 (3 view(s))
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IN RELATION WITH ETRANGE
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