ARS NOTORIA
Chronicles
(Great Dane Records)
36:37min

French multi-instrumentalist Antoine Grasser is the mastermind behind ARS NOTORIA’s debut album “Chronicles”, released by the also French label Great Dane Records. The band had only put out two singles back in 2017. As a starting note, there is a different guest vocalist for each of the nine songs present in “Chronicles”. And that grabbed my attention immediately. It was really interesting to listen and to analyze the interaction between each other, especially having different performances over the same music style. Luckily, that never distracts the listener from the outstanding arrangements and the ferocity of the vocal approach of the artists. So, yes, this is definitely technical Death Metal. There are tons of riffs, pattern variations and tempos constantly shifting. I always wonder how bands achieve this level of intricacy. After the second spin, I thought that maybe sticking to a certain theme or a certain refrain would have been beneficial to some of these songs. It is a lot and it is all panned out at the same time. On the other hand, I think several of the most complex (and more melodic) riffs borrow inspiration off DEATH’s “The Sound Of Perseverance” album. I was shocked when listening to those parts, since they retain all that ferocity, but also the rich and tuneful overtones that made the aforementioned album what it is. The production is top notch. The mixing is perfectly balanced, although the mastering is a little too pushed up for my taste. The drums pound their way through the album. And even if they were programmed there is no trace of the machine-like rigidness associated with them. When it comes to the strings, I think Antoine took his time with the guitar and bass tones. The highlight here is the neatly compressed and punchy bass tone. It pops out when the songs allow it, so the bass is never lost in the mix and becomes an integral part of the sound. The guitars, apart from an amazing performance, have enough distortion to chop your head off but also the notes are clear and defined. And, as said above, the guest vocalists add identity and character to each of the songs. “Chronicles” is a solid, technical, Death Metal album. It could use some more “hooks” here and there, but the guideline has been set and I look forward to more material from ARS NOTORIA. Support the band at www.facebook.com/arsnotoriametal and their label at www.facebook.com/greatdanerecords

Alfonso Perez

Alfonso Perez

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