ARACHNES mainman Frank Caruso strikes back with a brand new project. DARKLIGHT may catch many of the Italian musician's fans by surprise, due to its (somehow or total?) different approach (in terms of songwriting formulas) but - as I had the chance to hear in Light Form The Dark - the bottom line is that DARKLIGHT delivers a good taste of multi-dimensional music. Please, proceed.
Frank Caruso is no juvenile guitarist. His involvement with Metal music goes back to the mid 80s. FIREHOUSE (no, not the American hair Metal band, of course!) offered two albums in their career, with 1994's Labyrinth gaining good feedback in the Heavy/Power Metal circles. And Frank would not rest here: apart from his works for TV commercials and soundtracks in Italy, ARACHNES did rise from the FIREHOUSE ashes and a new band in the vein of ANGRA, STRATOVARIUS, AVALON and LABYRINTH was born. Featuring the unlimited talent of singer Enzo Caruso, ARACHNES boasts an audio 'gallery' of five full-length albums so far, with Primary Fear being a self-favourable album.
DARKLIGHT arises with a (by some means) different aspect, in early 2008. Frank Caruso decides to combine some of the ARACHNES elements - pomp parts, symphonic/neoclassical paths, an ample rhythm section - with enough of Gothic and medieval parts. Hence, the resolution of using Paola Baldacci to handle some perfect non-typical female vocals seems quite reasonable. She's great! You may recall bands like (early) THE GATHERING (check her parts at Come To The Hell), (mid) THEATER OF TRAGEDY or (even) BLACKMORE'S NIGHT with her voice.
Especially in tracks like e.g. Enchanted Night (what a great solo, by the way!) or The Heroes there's a certain medieval atmosphere spread all over, while more heavy/powerful tunes include the 'dark' About You, the majestic Breathless, the extreme Metal Come To The Hell opening cut  and the 'travelling' Like A Leader. Yeap, 'majestic' and 'travelling' are rather fitting words to describe Light Form The Dark's identity. The 'gothic' parts are not in the foreground, while at times they can be translated as (even) 'gothic' Death Metal parts (with Frank's voice bringing PARADISE LOST or AMORPHIS to mind); not to forget, Frank's guitar leads and melodies/harmonies are excellent. Fascinating guitar work this one may be, with tons of mystical fantasy and - thankfully - no tendency in exaggeration. I'd like the clean guitar parts to be more in quantity (the music's 'smell' could handle such a quality) but...
...(all in all) this could not be a drawback in such a good release. I admit I was rather afraid I'd listen to some boring ethereal-wannabe stuff from the very beginning, but Light Form The Dark won me over, with its equal demarcation to power, melody, atmosphere and sharpness. Recommended to all those hungry for non-mainstream ample 'ethereal' stuff.