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Flametal - The Elder CD (album) cover

THE ELDER

Flametal

 

Progressive Metal

3.58 | 12 ratings

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UMUR
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator
3 stars The Elder is american metal band Flametalīs debut album. As the bandname suggests their style is a mix of flamenco ( Fla) and metal. Itīs a very innovative move and itīs done in a true progressive spirit. Is it a successfull mix then? I guess it depends on the ears that hear.

The music can by described as a mix of flamenco like Paco de Lucia ( a bit of Al Di Meola) and classic metal/ US power metal. The tech metal tendencies show here and there, but the metal part of the music isnīt very impressive IMO. The flamenco parts are very good though and keeps the music exciting. When the vocals appear they really stink though. Boring lifeless rough singing. They really destroy more than they enhance the music. I would have prefered that The Elder was instrumental all the way through with vocals like these. No power is the best way to describe the vocals. I wonīt point out any highlights as all songs are of equal quality. Journey Into Fear is a bit more epic than the rest even though the 14:43 minutes is a cheat. There is about 5-6 minutes of silence before a bit of flamenco guitar playing ends the album. Not the best choice to end an album with. One other thing about the music I have to mention is the flamenco clapping which is a funny feature in Flametalīs music.

The musicianship is good and Iīll have to mention the flamenco guitar playing by band leader Benjamin Woods as it is of high class I just wish he wouldnīt sing.

The production isnīt too good and sometimes I feel like Iīm sitting between two recordings by a flamenco artist and a metal band and I think itīs partly the productions fault.

I saw a couple of 5 star ratings for this album and the mix of flamenco and metal seemed interesting to me so I tried it out. I canīt say itīs an album I will listen to very often, but it will find itīs audience Iīm sure. To me this is a 3 star album. There are good things like the flamenco guitar parts but there are also some pretty generic metal parts I could have done without.

UMUR | 3/5 |

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