Arkaea – Years In The Darkness

So, what is this now? Arkaea… a newcomer in the metal scene. What do they want from us? They want our attraction for sure. That’s really obvious. Well, they really got it from the very beginning. How shouldn’t they since they consist of two halfs of two bands? A more experienced one on the one hand, and a very promising one on the other hand.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is the new baby and fathers of it are two ex members of the mighty Fear Factory (speaking of Christian Olde Wolbers on the guitars and the nihilistic automaton called Raymond Herrera on drums) and also, two members of Threat Signal (Vocalist Jon Howard, whose voice leads this beast into destruction, and bassist Pat Kavanagh, whose sub-frequencies are the heart of it all).

The result of this combination may cause some contradiction, or some more interest than usual. It all depends on how each individual sees some things in his mind. These songs, most of them at least, were composed to be a part of a future record by Fear Factory. Someone who has been deep inside the band as a listener, can realize that very easy from the first second. It is clear that these compositions were written for Burton C. Bell’s voice. Jon Howard does a good job though, but not few people will start comparing, eitherwise there is a reason or not.

Neurotic industrial metal at it’s best in many ways, Arkaea can’t be praised for being unique or adding something new. They shouldn’t be accused though for trying to play with safe cards. It is a big risk for two people to leave a band with which they became worldwide known and starting something new. Experience meets freshness here, as the two members of Threat Signal show us that the other two great guys are not alone in this. It is clearly a team work with a good result, which could have been much worse under many circumstances. The good thing is that you don’t get that bored. The bad thing is some more mellow moments that don’t really fit with the whole atmosphere of the listening of the album. And also the feeling that ”somewhere i have heard this before”.

In overall, a good start, but they could do it a little better. Maybe with a little more focus, the next step will be better.