Παρασκευή 23 Οκτωβρίου 2015

DARK QUARTERER – Ithaca review



 DARK QUARTERER – Ithaca
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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