Metal On Metal Records
DARK QUARTERER is a band
that I deeply appreciate. I think that it is a band that if it came from
countries like England or Germany or the U.S. they could have made a huge name
and following. The good thing though is that quality doesn’t depend on how
famous you are. The band from Italy which started back in the 80’s has released
its new album under the title “Ithaca”. This is an album which has a strong
Greek scent and I don’t mean only the island Ithaca which is the title of it.
Actually DARK QUARTERER seem to be a band with deep culture and their new album
is a concept based on the poem Ithaca of the great Greek poet Constantine
Kavafis. This is a poem that draws inspiration from the Odyssey, but it has a
strong symbolism. In a few words this poem means that everything you do does
not depend on how it will be in the end. It doesn’t depend on the final result,
but the whole process from the start till the end is the essence of life in
everything we do. I think you should check out this great poem and make up your
own mind, but now let us talk about the new album of the legends DARK
QUARTERER.
THE COVER: Ok this is what I call an epic cover. It is simple and yet it
sums up in a great way the whole concept of the album. You can see upon a shore
an ancient Greek helmet and at the back the sea on which Odysseus traveled and
became wiser.
MUSICAL STYLE: Ok this is a tough thing to do. Their music has so
many elements in it that is hard to put it under a label and get over with it.
The sound of DARK QUARTERER in a few words is a mixture of elements that derive
from the traditional metal sound mixed with 70’s hard rock elements and a few
progressive rock and even jazz structures. All these might sound different from
one another, but this is the magic of the band that manages to combine all
these elements and create a solid and recognizable sound which is technical and
yet straight forward and above all it has a strong epic feeling. I think that
the tag epic progressive metal sums up their sound quite well.
COMPOSITIONS: Their new album includes 7 compositions most of which
are over 7 minutes of duration. The album as I mentioned above is a concept one
and because of that the band has created an album with variety in order to give
to their story a dramatic or a cinematic if you prefer atmosphere. So in the
compositions you can find elements from traditional heavy metal to doom metal
and even some 70’s hard rock (URIAH HEEP style) influences and even jazz
moments (I mean in the structure of the songs). The important thing though is
that the band keeps its metal character in the whole album and offers to the
listener a musical experience that the more you listen to it the more things you
will discover and enjoy. Somehow, I have to say that this album in its
atmosphere (and not musically) made me compare it with IRON MAIDEN’s “Seventh
Son of a Seventh Son”.
CONCLUSION: DARK QUARTERER in their new release seem to be in a
fine mood and have proven that they have still a lot to give to this music.
Their new album has variety and imagination and above all the power to capture
the mind of the listener and make him/her wonder in the seas of music like
another Odysseus. It is a musical journey that you will enjoy…
Nick “Verkaim” Parastatidis
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