Ara'Kus - Aeterno Elementum

Ara’Kus

Aeterno Elementum

2010

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So another metal opera has surfaced from the great metal ocean, and this time it's Ara’Kus who will show us what they’ve got. "Aeterno Elementum" tells the story of a world descending into darkness and its inevitable purification. Or in other words, the rise and fall of humankind.

Like every opera/musical, "Aeterno Elementum" starts with a spoken introduction. A god is speaking to the audience about how he thinks of his world, that is in ruins. The story is quite clear through the music and the vocal performances. It’s always low and dark, without even a glimpse of hope that the world can be restored. Awesome riffs and some orchestra follows, and rolling, pounding drums can be found everywhere on the album. The vocal performance of Jeremiah Johnson isn’t so brilliant, but it can be said that his voice and attitude fit this dark metal opera.

I have to say that I don’t agree entirely with the term "metal opera" on this record. Yes, it is heavy and slightly symphonic metal, but real opera elements aren’t really found in Aeterno Elementum. Yes, they tell a story, and it is true that there are some sopranos somewhere on the album. But real, pure opera can’t be found.

The production on "Aeterno Elementum" is acceptable, and although the vocals are a bit hard to understand, everything seems in balance. I would describe it as being a bit blunt. You know when people hold a cushion over their sound system? That’s how it sounds, but again it contributes to the gloomy effect of the album, so I think that they did it on purpose.

I liked this, although I don’t really know why. It’s kind of dark and depressing, yet somehow I can really find myself in the story sometimes. For people who love some heavy gloomy doomy metal, certainly give this a spin.

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Kelvin’s Rating 3/5