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The quintet from Southern Germany founded Archai in 2005 and a year later they released their first demo - called Matters In Different Shades. But to be honest this is my first contact with Archai and their second demo which is called Subjects To Confirm. The 3-track demo is shortening the space of time til their first album will be released.
First you hear a type writer and then the five-some kicks off with heavy riffs. The song Lest We Forget has some progressive elements / structures. Singer Bernhard Kurray's voice fits well to the bands progressive power metal, but it could be a bit more powerful... The vocals should be a bit more prominent, in my opinion... The song fades out, but before it's really over you get a short acoustic part - and time is ticking away. Cool idea!
They add some heaviness to their sound for Machines In Human Guise. lead guitarist Fabian Krapp gets the chance to show his skills, but partly his leads competed with the vocals and this isn't doing the song any good. The songs surprise with twists and turns, with slow passages, with progressive structures and crunchy riffs. Last, but not least Valley's Run Deep where their progressive side gets even more prominent. Partly the guitar is too dominant, but perhaps a different mix would already change this impression...
Anyway, I can recommend to keep an eye on this band, if you are into progressive power metal! Sure, there are a few things they can improve, but this is a demo, so don't be too critical!
The sound quality is quite okay, only the drum sound is a bit flat.... and hollow. But that can be fixed in a proper production. Musically they don't follow any trend and they combine different elements to their own sound. With the voice of Bernhard Kurray they have also a trademark for Archai. You can listen to some snippets at their website!
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