Tacere: Eras Reveries

Already with several demos under their belt, Finnish melodic metal band Tacere must be quite experienced in the studio. Here is their most recent output, another demo titled Eras Reveries. This one is quite well produced; the recording is satisfying and the musicianship is alright. With a male and female vocalist, often classical guitar solos, some slower rhythms, gothic keyboards and pianos, this demo envelops everything you may expect from bands hailing from Finland. The packaging and production in general give this disc a real album feel, and it can be ordered at www.recordoffice.net according to the info on the band's website.

Eras Reveries contains seven tracks, which run the gamut from crunchy melodic metal to Euro power to gothic to the occasional shred numbers. Main songwriter and guitarist Karri Knuuttila also sings on every piece, often in a rough tone, but I wouldn't necessarily call it death growls. It's only on "Born of the Ground" where he truly goes for a guttural delivery for a few seconds. Other than that, he usually contrasts female singer Helena Haaparanta's more fragile vocals. Unfortunately both vocalists have a very heavy accent. Knuuttila is hardly understandable on the opening piece "Devour" and had me thinking he was actually singing in Finnish for a while. His singing does grow on you after a couple of spins, but even for someone who doesn't mind accents, I found his voice a bit languid. Female singer Haaparanta isn't too different either, but at least, she sings in a more confident tone, rarely getting out of her range. If you've heard the very first Nightwish disc and remember the non-operatic vocal style of Tarja, you should be able to imagine what Haaparanta sounds like. She seems like the perfect fit for gothic acts playing beauty and the beast type of songs.

Janne Salminen's keyboards are definitely vital elements of the songs, as it's the synths that define the direction of the album. Salminen's keys surround all instruments and vocals, often using dark tones that can range from sparse pianos to church organs. He doesn't solo or anything, but again it's him who manages to change the tempo and mood of tracks like "Autumn Rain" and the competent title track. Whenever he ventures into the main body of the piece, this allows Knuuttila to slice through with a guitar solo that harkens back to the glorious days of Stratovarius or perhaps other European melodic metal acts. That said, Knuuttila will also explore different ideas, as he plays sludgy guitar riffs on the long title track, where he also exchanges vocal lines with Haaparanta.

This band is improving slowly with each release, but they're not quite there yet. Seeing as they are only in their early twenties, that's understandable though. With continued work, Tacere may be on to something. We'll have to wait and see.

Track Listing

1. Devour
2. A Voice
3. Born of the Ground
4. Autumn Rain
5. Bitter, Regressive
6. Eras - Reveries
7. Foes of the Sun (bonus)

Added: November 4th 2005
Reviewer: Murat Batmaz
Score:
Related Link: Tacere website
Hits: 3553
Language: english

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