2006-02-27
Chimaera, not to be confused with the American
Chimaira , is one of the most special bands I've heard lately; This Brazilian band mixes wonderfully Progressive Metal, Power Metal and local Brazilian music effects (a great example for that would be the first intro, in which you feel you stepped into a Samba song).
The band is also very creative when it comes to the artwork throughout the booklet of the album, the song structures and the themes in them.
The band was founded in 1999, in 2001 they released a single, "Prelude of the Wanderer", and this album which was released three years later continues the story of the same wanderer.
For those of you who find it odd that a Brazilian band would sing about fantasy stories, you should look at the band's name - Chimaera is one of the monsters in the
Greek Mythology.
Most of the songs on the album receive a musical introduction or a little story read by Mateus Borges, the drummer; the music that comes along with those introductions varies from Brazilian tunes and samples that would fit a fantasy tale, but it all comes as a preparation for the next song.
The first two songs, "The Dreamsower" and "Morning Shade" are Power-Progressive tracks played with a variety of changes in direction and rhythm, all done in good taste. The third song, "Tortuous Loneliness", goes for a ballad, although it can't be considered as a pure ballad the music and the tone don't go too high on the scale.
The next track, "Wrinkles Of The Oak", displays a comparison between human lives and Oak trees, and again, as shown throughout the album, it's all done with rhythmic drumming given by Mateus Borges who is in charge of the percussion as well; keyboard tunes supplied by Pablo Fernandes that give a backup melody for the song, professional guitar riffs courtesy of Raul Dressler and Thiago Pimentel, the vocalist, that knows when to go up with the tones and when to sing in plain clean vocals.
"Rose for Thorns", is also a ballad, but it's quieter than before and it uses an acoustic guitar that Thiago is in charge of.
The next song, "Scars Unseen", shows the return of the pace, but just when it seems the band would go to an aggressive mode, the band stops and opts for a slower rhythm that intensifies by a little throughout the chorus; Unless you want to be considered as a band that doesn't know what its musical direction is- you have to know how to do these things, and Chimaera does it well.
For aggressiveness turn to the next song, "Essence Of Darkness", in which you can find heavier guitar tunes, powerful drumwork and a bass sound that stands out than anywhere before; this track shows that Rodrigo Serafini, the bass player, also has a say in the album, and it highlights Thiago's voice (that wouldn't have embarrassed any of the vocalists of the great German power metal bands).
The story and the songs move along, the wanderer asks himself was he abandoned by the vengeful angel, while in the background we hear the keyboards getting their fair share of the spotlight alongside some intoxicating guitar solos that are on display and not for the first time. Eventually, the wanderer claims he withstood the test, and the storm that came over him died – a fantasy tale or not?
On the 19th track we start a new tale with the same musical style, and it goes on as a single song throughout the rest of the tracks, with a fade-in-fade-out when necessary to switch songs. It's not bad, because the band makes great music and they're very creative, but I wonder why they had to add this story to the album as well.
In my opinion, there's enough material here to create a base for the next album, that would be something of a follow-up, because right now these tracks are only hints to what we've heard earlier and they're far shorter than anything else on the album, so what do they have in common?
Nir Haviv
