Arche is back.
Seven years after their first EP, the Finnish band composed of Eppe Kuismin (guitar/bass/keyboards/vocals, ex-Lowmen, ex-Crystalic, ex-Profetus, ex-Worthless) and Ville Raittila (drums, ex-Fleshkraft, ex-Myring, ex-Razorblend, ex-Worthless) signs with Transcending Obscurity Records for the release of Transitions, their first album.
The album gently begins with Reverential Silence, a long and haunting composition which suddenly becomes saturated with dissonant and heavy tones, sometimes letting massive vocals accompany us. The track is interspersed with soothing pauses to revive oppression by offering a melancholic basis, accentuating heaviness before letting it fade away and guide us to Transition, the shortest track, which reveals six minutes of soft heady melodies completed by airy keyboards. But quietness won’t last, and it is swallowed up by the heavy strikes of In A Solace Light, quickly followed by a dark and oppressive saturation. The vocal interventions are still as ghostly and suffocating as ever, as are the piercing leads that move forward with this throbbing rhythmic, even when saturation leaves the outro for a beautiful acoustic finale.
Quite refined but oh so heavy and hypnotic, the universe of Arche will be able to bewitch you if you appreciate slow and haunting sounds. Only regret, Transitions remains rather short compared to the other albums of the style, but it leaves no doubt about the band’s strength.
85/100