When it comes to Russia no one can be certain about anything, but after first listening to the album from ARCANAR, I know one thing for sure; I am going to dig deeper in their Metal scene, maybe I can find more jewels like Dusty Lord hidden below the snow covered lands.
ARCANAR were formed in 2004, at Ekaterinburg by former members of AUTUMN and SEKVENTIA. Dusty Lord is their first full length album, which was released in 2006. No this is no mistake, the date is correct, I don't know what happened and it came to us now (I know post offices in Greece are not trustworthy, but come on! 3 years!). Whatever the case, better late than never.
ARCANAR play Doom/Death Metal with many progressive elements, they are influenced by such bands as MY DYING BRIDE and for their acoustic parts they take influences from ANATHEMA. Dusty Lord has all the elements that make the album sound as if it belonged to an older era of Doom Metal, closer to Turn Loose The Swans by MY DYING BRIDE. ARCANAR kept all the important influences from all the forerunners of Doom Metal, but added unique technical elements, which make Dusty Lord, stand out.
There are nine music pieces in Dusty Lord, one intro, two acoustic interludes, one instrumental part and five songs. The songs are all in the Russian language which can be a little hard to follow the lyrics for one that does not know the language. Yet the music that ARCANAR play and the vocal sound is enough to put you in the atmosphere of the album. Dusty Lord possesses a dark brooding melancholy, with angered outbreaks that are only pacified by the dreamy acoustic parts.
ARCANAR's music is perfectly fit together, the vocal fluctuations from calm and deep bind well together with the dark growls; added to that, the great progressive guitars and the precise placed drums empower the emotions of the album. The keyboards work subtly to add to all the melancholy and darkness. The acoustic parts are perfect interludes that only give a small hint of what will follow.
Dusty Lord is an album that has a unique attribute; it is so well crafted that can appeal to many different fans of various Metal genres. Be it fans of Doom Metal or Death, even Gothic Metal. If you are listening to any of the above genres try and get a copy of Dusty Lord.