Lately, I've been getting the strong distinct impression that Italy and Heavy Metal are two genres that just don't seem to fit well together. I don't really know what it is but whenever I listen to a new Italian Metal releases, my faith begins to waiver somewhat in the hopes that one day, they can make a great Metal album. Let it never be said however that I am completely against it as I will continue to listen to each new Italian Metal release with a fair open mind to see if one day my opinions or views can change.

On now to today's offering which is the debut from the Italian Progressive Metal group ARSEA who this year bring out their first offering "A New Dawn" onto the music world. Formed in 2007 in Soriano nel Cimino in Italy, ARSEA are a six piece Progressive Metal group who over the years have been working hard to get the right sound they need for their music as well as having to deal with multiple members coming and going before getting a solid recording line-up so an album could actually be recorded.

After 8 years, multiple live shows and multiple member changes, ARSEA are ready to show off their first album "A New Dawn". The album which clocks in at around 48 minutes and 9 tracks is the end result of several years of hard work and overcoming various obstacles to finally get an album out to the world. The album features two instrumentals and seven vocal tracks and the lengths of each one are varied ranging from as little as 3 minutes to as long as 7 minutes each and already alarm bells are ringing in my head.

Why do alarm bells ring in my head when looking at long track lengths from Progressive Rock/Metal bands? As I've mentioned before countless times in multiple reviews of mine, long track lengths in Progressive Rock/Metal music is always a big trap that most bands fall into as often the longer a song is, the less enjoyable it will be. The band will focus too much on cramming in too many repetitive melodies that you hear over and over and the more you hear it even in one song, the more likely chance you'll have of getting bored.

Production is also a big trap that some Progressive Rock/Metal acts fall into. Since the weaker the quality of an albums production, combined with the long track lengths, the music is not really going to be all that clear to your ears and you'll probably spend more time trying to make out any music that may be in there instead of enjoying it like you're supposed to.

Rather regrettably, ARSEA are one of those many Progressive Rock/Metal acts who have stumbled and fallen into that trap as the long track lengths combined with the okay-ish quality of their debut albums production, is not really what I would have otherwise hoped it would be. As I assumed that 8 years of recording and getting a debut album ready following several live shows and multiple member changes, would have delivered something great, but I am a little bit disappointed by the end result.

Bottom line, the debut from ARSEA is OK but it's not really a debut that I found to be all that enjoyable. It's not the worst I've ever heard as there are worse examples I could mention so I'll give this band some points back for that but as a whole, this was not an album that I personally enjoyed as the long track lengths. The okay-ish production and the somewhat average performance in the music seemed to put me off the music as a whole. By all means give this one a listen yourself to see if you think differently and you're more than welcome to but personally, I don't think I'll be listening to this one again in a hurry.