progressive rock / metal
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Ever since I started this website, I've been seeing France as one of the strangest countries for rock and metal music. French bands seem to have something unique, something mysterious perhaps. At first, I thought it was the fact that French vocalists like to sing a lot, way more than other bands but there is more, something I can't grab. Their approach to metal is also quite different it seems.
Scarlean certainly belongs in the list of strange but great French bands. The band started in Avignon in 2012 and have been working on this album ever since. What sets them apart is the fact that they have found a niche between rock and metal. In a way, this is Dream Theater for rock fans and Radiohead for metalheads. Yet, above all, this is an immersive piece of progressive rock which never gets obtrusive.
When I first looked at the cover and some of the band pictures, I was expecting something completely different. I was expecting either something industrial or something blackened. Yet, to my surprise I got something between Tool, Deftones, Korn and Pink Floyd. Yeah, I know, I didn't know that there was such a thing either. Perhaps not as in-your-face as Korn and still far away from the epic genius of Pink Floyd but nonetheless very interesting.
That 'still far away from the epic genius of Pink Floyd' sentence isn't criticism by the way. Only Pink Floyd comes close to Pink Floyd but I certainly see some similarities. The progressive nature of the music, for example, or the emotional approach to vocals. I also really dig the steady slow but dynamic tempo, something Pink Floyd were masters in, just like Scarlean so it seems.
Another highly surprising aspect is the odd combination between progressive rock and nu-metal. Both used to be completely different genres but I can almost hear Jonathan Davis' (Korn) vocals on Tool's music, or Deftones and Opeth together. In that aspect, it's hard to name a favorite song on this album, and I'm not going to. Why? Because this whole album is one massive story and an excellent trip which comes highly recommended if you're into progressive music. It's a simple as that actually...
​Serge
Scarlean certainly belongs in the list of strange but great French bands. The band started in Avignon in 2012 and have been working on this album ever since. What sets them apart is the fact that they have found a niche between rock and metal. In a way, this is Dream Theater for rock fans and Radiohead for metalheads. Yet, above all, this is an immersive piece of progressive rock which never gets obtrusive.
When I first looked at the cover and some of the band pictures, I was expecting something completely different. I was expecting either something industrial or something blackened. Yet, to my surprise I got something between Tool, Deftones, Korn and Pink Floyd. Yeah, I know, I didn't know that there was such a thing either. Perhaps not as in-your-face as Korn and still far away from the epic genius of Pink Floyd but nonetheless very interesting.
That 'still far away from the epic genius of Pink Floyd' sentence isn't criticism by the way. Only Pink Floyd comes close to Pink Floyd but I certainly see some similarities. The progressive nature of the music, for example, or the emotional approach to vocals. I also really dig the steady slow but dynamic tempo, something Pink Floyd were masters in, just like Scarlean so it seems.
Another highly surprising aspect is the odd combination between progressive rock and nu-metal. Both used to be completely different genres but I can almost hear Jonathan Davis' (Korn) vocals on Tool's music, or Deftones and Opeth together. In that aspect, it's hard to name a favorite song on this album, and I'm not going to. Why? Because this whole album is one massive story and an excellent trip which comes highly recommended if you're into progressive music. It's a simple as that actually...
​Serge