Review Summary: one of the best metal record of 2007...
Novembre – The Blue
Peaceville Records
Lineup:
Carmelo Orlando - guitars, vocals
Giuseppe Orlando - drums
Massimiliano Pagliuso - guitars
Luca Giovagnoli - Bass
Tracklist:
1. Anaemia - 04:34
2. Triesteitaliana - 04:53
3. Cobalt of March - 06:01
4. Bluecracy - 06:06
5. Architheme - 04:51
6. Nascence - 04:33
7. Iridescence - 05:12
8. Sound Odyssey - 05:31
9. Cantus Christi - 06:46
10. Zenith - 07:09
11. Argentic - 05:27
12. Deorbit - 06:24
Novembre is a one of a kind band. The band sounds includes roots from Goth metal, death metal, melodic metal, progressive, Black Metal, doom metal and even folk. Mix all of these kinds of music with an awesome sound production and you’ll get Novembre. The band also used to write some lyrics in Italian, their first born language. The music will get you through different kind of feelings from anger to sadness and even melancholy.
What was good about the album...
The good thing about this album is that Novembre have not decided to do a step back after Materia. They went a bit mellower on their last record so they said that they will come back with a more metal product. Hopefully the band returned with some of their key elements that were put aside on Materia. The Harsh vocals are back and share about the half of the vocals with the clean ones. Solos were also a put aside element on Materia. They decided to do more solos but this time they tried to do it differently. The solo part of ‘’ Triesteitaliana’’ is very chaotic and out of nowhere. Those unpredictable elements are what make music so fun to listen to. ‘’Bluecracy’’ and ‘’Deorbit’’ features some arpeggios stuff which sound pretty good with the music. ''Zenith'' is also a intrumental piece with some nice lead and acoustic playing.
Hopefully the band had kept the sound production of Materia which is awesome. The band style is really atmospheric and dark. Tons of guitars are layered. Most of the time, you’ll get a rhythm distorted guitar, a lead part, an acoustic guitar and some voicing at the same time. Add to that a nice tone with delay, chorus and some flange. The result is pretty cool. The drum sound is also pretty good. It’s really loud and clear. The drums are one of the things that always surprise me when I listen to this band. He’s not the craziest drummer in the world but what he plays is just perfect. The regular metal stuff like double bass, blast beat and fast fills are there but there’s also groove. His drumming is very progressive. The songs are evolving from the drumming.
A nice add-on to this record is the female vocals on Nascence. Those little elements keep you interested in the music. The main voice is pretty unique and nasal. I mean, you love it or not. It’s easy to say that English is not his main language because he has a big accent.
What was bad about the album...
One of my biggest deceptions is that there is no Italian singing part. The band used to add Italian in the lyrics which is a good thing in my opinion. This used to be a nice exotic feature in the music. The only big negative thing for me is that some songs could have been removed. The album seems to be a bit too long. Some songs are not essential in this record. ‘’Iridescence’’, ‘’Cantus Christi’’ and ‘’Sound Odyssey’’ are the three songs that I would have removed from the record. 12 songs in this kind of metal record are too much for me. The songs are almost all over minutes in length so it’s a long record. A bit too long if you want my opinion. This is not a big deal but it would have been a better record if there were only 8 or 9 songs. It would be a better full listening experience.
Overall this release is in my top 5 of 2007 and one of my favourite from this band. It’s for every fan of Opeth, Agalloch and Katatonia. It’s an interesting listening experience.
Pros:
-Excellent Vibe
-Experimentation with solos
-More Harsh Vocals
-Good orchestration
-Addition of female vocals
Cons:
-No song in Italian
-Some moments are repetitive
Highlights:
-Anaemia
-Argentic
-Deorbit
-Triesteitaliana
