Album Review

Area 51 – Daemonicus

• 2nd Aug 2009

Pitched somewhere between soundtrack, soundscape and operatic metal, Area 51’s ‘Daemonicus’ is full of depth and weaves melodies between Night wish & Dragon force with both haunting quality and force-think guitar lines like violins and on ‘Despair’ grand riffs.

It works, on ‘Ashes’ Yoichiro Ishino cuts in with one of the most interesting riffs on the album, and finds him standing on the more positive side of creative playing; it’s one he straddles very precariously, for the most part keeping the melody tight and soaring, but if there is any criticism it’s that the music becomes in danger of blending into background material-fortunately this is a danger never realised.

The opening is so dramatic, so film score in its application that comparisons to video games, and manga are inevitable; and as it builds segueing into ‘Les Anges’ it throws absolutely everything it has at you in a storm of notes and harmonies.
The delicate piano of ‘Venus’ is centred by vocalist Kate and it ties all your heart strings together and leads you through a garden of subtle piano chord stabs and spiralling vocals-the spoken word part is sung without pretention and with total conviction, and is the reason it sits perfectly amid the beautiful arrangements.
The slip from ‘Crimson’ into ‘Despair’ is the amalgamation Area 51 are after, the guitar, keyboard and vocals occupying the same melody without negatively affecting the others, playing ensemble-which for the most part is exactly what happens-with only a few exceptions throughout ‘Dameonius’.

Building to a satisfying close was always going to be difficult, as every track strives for magnum opus, ‘Requiem’ represents the beginning of the end, and carries it off into the ether superbly, when the guitar rings out and the notes continue it’s all together fragile and moving.
‘Lord knows’ is their attempt at accentuating their sound with a frantic dash to the final fantasy, tight guitar and guest vocals by Rob Rock. At five minutes it allows itself a breather, before the last hurrah-the reprise at 11:55 is Area 51 reaching their pinnacle, it’s asking a lot from the listener but really is worth holding on for.

There’s something sweeping, massive and grand about ‘Daemonicus’ it’s like a gigantic final boss battle in a Japanese role playing video game, and allows the exquisite ocean of sound to carry you away; at its heights ‘Daemonicus’ is a delicate, heart rendering piece of Japanese classical metal.