A six-piece band from down under, Adelaide, Australia releases its debut album. After the first listen I was not sure what to think of it. It is a rather strange blend of melodeath and epic, sometimes weird keyboard parts. All with vocals that change from harsh and aggressive to clean singing.
Sometimes, the use of several styles works for me, like in the opening track, but the second track has a bit too much keyboards in front of the mix and the third track “Addict” shows through too many modern influences. Next track “Deadworld” is a catchy song with electronic synth sounds, aggressive as well as clean singing and some choir singing. I think that in general there are a little too much different styles and influences mixed together. Perhaps there is a market for it, but for m,e it is neither one nor the other.
The melodeath sometimes sounds a bit like Children of Bodom, especially in combination with the harsh vocals. The movie-like, sometimes soundtrack sounding keyboard parts are not always in favor of the songs and the biggest problem. There are enough good ideas, but I think the band needs to find out what they really want. The songs need to be a bit better and more balanced. The best track in my opinion is “Fear the Reaper”, a song that is much heavier and here, the keyboards really work in favor of the song. It reminds me a bit of the band Babylon Sad. The softer part in the song reminding a bit of HIM could have been left away.
If a mix of Children of Bodom, In Flames, HIM, Nightwish and modern synths in catchy, partly groovy songs sounds interesting to you, you should have a listen.
Tracklist:
01. Aeturnus Imperium
02. King For a Day
03. Addict
04. Deadworld
05. The Mask Of Hypocrisy
06. Solus
07. Fear the Reaper
08. Pariah
09. Purging the Maelstrom
10. The Devil Pays Higher
Playing time: 51:00
Release date: 13 November, 2015
Label: Into Records
Website: www.facebook.com/octanic
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