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Tragacanth.\u00a0 Hmm, that name looks distinctly foreign to me.\u00a0 I wonder what the origin is.\u00a0 As I gaze up the definition, that being a natural gum obtained from the dried sap of several species of middle eastern legumes of the genus Astragalus, I\u2019m perplexed.\u00a0 Is this going to be some demented, experimental group?\u00a0 And then upon hearing the band in it\u2019s full form through the course of their debut album \u201cAnthology Of The East\u201d, I grasp the \u201cmiddle eastern\u201d aspect of the definition.<\/p>\n

The band play an Arabic style of metal through a good chunk of their material.\u00a0 The surprise that lies within is that the band is Dutch.\u00a0 While playing that regional sound for a band hailing from an entirely different region may sound odd, I remember hearing many different sounds emanating from the Netherlands in metal\u2019s past, specifically The Gathering and Gorefest to name but two.\u00a0 So I try not to be judgmental in this respect.<\/p>\n

The Arabic style is not noticed right away on first listen.\u00a0 Album opener \u201cRebirth\u201d gives us a short intro of good vs. evil metal, and \u201cThe First Noble Truth\u201d gives us a full-frontal blackened death assault turning to a melodic piano piece with an accented guitar solo, which is slow at first then speeds up to a suitable yet unfocused style.\u00a0 While the first two songs go from serene to bombastic in a pace befitting a black metal influenced death metal sound, the regional sound is put off till the third track \u201cBirth Of A Goddess\u201d.\u00a0 Egyptian inspired guitar work launches into a brutal assault, and the main problem with me is not the execution, but how reminiscent the band are of Nile in this instance.\u00a0 Not bad company to be in, but they\u2019ve perfected their craft while Tragacanth have not, at least not at this point.\u00a0 Thankfully this comparison is not continued in a huge way through the rest of this release. Continuing with \u201cThe Gates Of Naraka\u201d, the band chooses a more straight-ahead path without straying too far and feeling jumbled like the other tracks thus far.\u00a0 It ended too soon and left me wanting more.<\/p>\n

So imagine my disappointment when the following compositions fail to keep my attention (or the middle-eastern theme in any large sense) and stumble to try and garner a working musical formula.\u00a0 While there is interesting banter between piano and guitar in the second-half of the album, not to mention some straight-ahead and forceful riffing with some interesting symphonic elements, it feels more like an exercise in trying to cram in as many ideas into a piece as possible.\u00a0 It gets frustrating and by the second-last track, the wheels have completely fallen off and I\u2019m trying to figure out where the promising sound went.\u00a0 \u201cEdimmu\u201d ends the album on a thankful high note, with it\u2019s to the point attitude and ferociousness. It slows down in spots but the momentum started in the first part of the song carries it through nicely to the end.<\/p>\n

I come to the end of this album frustrated.\u00a0 After repeated listens, my frustration builds.\u00a0 And not a frustration based on lack of musicianship or interesting ideas, or even a lackluster production, but more to do with a lack of focus.\u00a0 Every instrument is played very tightly and the arrangements are well put together, however those same arrangements lead into areas where you scratch your head and wonder what happened to the momentum.\u00a0 Bands like this need to focus on the \u201cless is more\u201d approach.\u00a0 I\u2019ve never understood why some metal bands see fit to throw a bunch of styles into a melting pot of ideas.\u00a0 A lot of times it boils over.\u00a0 It rarely gels to perfection.\u00a0 So perhaps the lesson for this band is that even though they have the chops and some great ideas, when album number two is being written, a more generalized idea would be the best approach as opposed to a plethora of ideas crammed into a full-length album.\u00a0 I\u2019m actually eager to hear where they go with their sound as there\u2019s promise, but for now I\u2019ll just have to accept that some great musical ideas don\u2019t always amount to a great musical execution.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n


\nTracklist:<\/strong><\/p>\n

01. Rebirth
\n02. The First Noble Truth
\n03. Birth Of A Goddess
\n04. The Gates Of Naraka
\n05. Kutayuddha
\n06. God Of Hell
\n07. Destroyer Of Worlds
\n08. Edimmu<\/p>\n

Playing time:<\/strong> 43:47<\/p>\n

Release date:<\/strong> 12 December, 2015<\/p>\n

Label:<\/strong> Loud Rage Music<\/p>\n

Website:<\/strong> Tragacanth Official Website<\/a><\/p>\n