Italian band Arachnes are back with their fourth release, this one titled A New Day, out now on Lion Music. This is European progressive power metal with all the trimmings; big vocals, big guitars, big keyboards, all delivered in an epic scope. The brains behind Arachnes are the brothers Enzo (vocals/keyboards) and Frank (guitars) Caruso, and the band is rounded out by bassist Gabriele Baroni and drummer Stefano Caironi.
For the most part, A New Day is entertaining melodic metal, never too heavy nor too symphonic, but straddles a nice balance between the two. Tunes like "Magic World" and "Into the Fog" contain plenty of guitar crunch, but still have that progressive edge thanks to the inclusion of keyboards and some dazzling solo spots, which, if you are a fan of Rainbow, Dream Theater, or Deep Purple, no doubt you'll love. The ballad "My Face is Hard" sounds a bit too close to Images and Words era Dream Theater, but still a decent tune, and if you like that style, there's more on "Running in an Old Town" and "Your Death". The musicianship throughout is quite good, and Enzo's vocals are melodic and powerful, perfect for this style of music. Oh yeah, and there's a fun cover of Deep Purple's "Fireball" thrown in for good measure.
A New Day is another solid release from the folks at Lion Music, and if you appreciate well played & melodic progressive power metal, Arachnes is a good band to investigate.
Track Listing
01 I Know the Darkness 4:59
02 Big Hearth 3:51
03 I'm Sorry 4:14
04 Into the Fog 3:24
05 Magic World 4:57
06 My Face Is Hard 3:40
07 Running in an Old Town 4:20
08 Take Your Life 4:40
09 Parallel Worlds 2:10
10 The Reason of the Things 3:20
11 Your Death 4:47
12 Fireball 3:34