I’ll have to admit that as far as the music from the former Soviet Union goes, it isn’t my strongest subject - save for the Red Army Choir and the odd Gothic Rock band that occasionally flairs briefly into existence. However this feels very familiar for some reason. There is a strong melodic Scandinavian vein permeating the kind of metal that I’d usually identify with Stone Sour, Vol. 3 era Slipknot, and even a mellowed out Mudvayne. Which, when considering the perennial output of American artists that invade these isles via the music television channels every Summer, doesn’t seem like a very awe inspiring prospect. However these guys are from the more progressive mentality, so it will be interesting to see just where they go with this.
According to their biographical information, this is Nova Art’s sophomore offering and the first on the Italian My Kingdom label (which lists them as Progressive Gothic Metal) and they have already played to big European prog festivals - So there must be something credible to them right? Well yes and no. Firstly, they bear little resemblance to the majority of European Gothic Metal, even in it’s loosest definable terms. Secondly they are what I’d call ‘loosely’ progressive. I would personally lump them in with the Art-rock / Alternative Metal sect to save confusion. But this is all neither hear nor there… what does matter is… is the album worth your hard earned cash?
To me, the first two tracks feel the wrong way round; ‘Follow Me’ sounds like it would have leant itself better as the introductory track rather than ‘Don’t Follow the Crowd’ due to it’s more assertive and catchier groove, rather than the actual openers Alt Metal by way of Gothenburg style which suffers from a muddy vocal performance as well. Aside from its groovy industrial synth backing ‘Would My Soul…’ is another one that, while quite catchy, just feels a little standard fare. It gets better though; ‘Medium’ is a promising little track that sounds almost cut from A Perfect Circle’s cloth, and certainly benefits from its understated approach. Also ‘Sense of Life’ throw’s a couple of curve balls at the listener and makes the formula heard on previous tracks more appealing. ‘Just Raining’ clocks in at 1 minute 51 seconds but it feels like the most progressive track on the album with its industrial feel and really could and should have been expanded into the albums centrepiece rather than left as a short reprise to the opener. ‘2-35 Before the Roar’ is another short instrumental that could have formed the basis for a truly excellent song but was left untapped whereas the next track ‘My Essence’, despite having a decent groove, just feels like a Mudvayne hand-me-down. The final track ‘Lost in Dreams’ manages to scrape by as a pseudo-epic closer.
When Mr. Nova projects he can really carry a song, but there is a meekness to his harmonic vocals that grates against my ears, and this is something that really effects the album throughout. Another shortcoming is that the band’s most interesting riffs and ideas seemed to be relegated to short instrumental tracks and breakdowns which is incredibly frustrating. Where they have gone very right is in the construction of the songs and melodic structures within them - they are richly layered and never feel idle. So I can say they’re good song writers, but they really need to stop being afraid to experiment and mix it up because this is where the most interesting aspects of the album come through.
http://www.nova-art.ru
http://www.myspace.com/novartband
