29 March 2024

Arcada – Projections

Label: Edged Circle
Releasedate: 27-03-2020

Arcada are releasing their first album this year on March 27th. It’s not every day that we get to know a black metal band from Peru. South America is a prolific metal ground, but this is a first. I don’t know much Peru bands, let alone black metal. They have been around since 2012 with a couple of demos and EPs. They finally have a full album to show and tell.

The first track, Projections, does its job as a proper intro to what is coming for us. And what is coming for us is death metal from Peru. There is absolutely nothing in the first track that reveals the origin of the band. But again, I wouldn’t really know how Peruvian death metal is supposed to sound like. For the second track, IAO, furious drumming is the rule. Doing a square job, following up the growl in a steady tempo. The band seems to be tight in terms of sound and going in the same direction all the time.

O, the third track of this Arcada album is my favorite, the reason being the light start, and then the tempo variation as the track goes on, making me a sucker for these breaks. There are parts of the track that will remind you of punk rock, I kid you not. After that, lunar possessions does its share of weird summoning voices and fast drumming, but not that memorable. As for the last track, Setheus, it could have been epic, but fails due to the exaggeration on the exorcism screams that blast for half of the track and not only that, also the repetition. While the drums and bass guitar do wonderful work and carry all the album beyond, the guitar and the vocals are far from remarkable. And this makes it a bad example of the union of the band.

In conclusion, the album of Arcada does what it is supposed to do. While in the beginning, it is proper, halfway is simply great, and the ending is sort of “meh”, making it a bit of a letdown. And yet this is a great story of rise and fall. Moral of the story, kids, don’t put an exorcism or people getting abused in the end. Anyway, I still would see them live if I had the chance.

Line up:

  • R. (Guitar)
  • V. (Vocals)
  • J.K.(Drums)
  • D. (Bass)

Tracklist

  • 1. Projections
  • 2. IAO
  • 3. O
  • 4. Lunar Possessions
  • 5. Setheus

Links:

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