Artrach is a band that I had never heard about before so I’ll give you a short introduction to begin with. The band had produced their first demo ‘Through archways of dark’ in 2002 and has been working pretty hard since then by competing in several band contests. Their biography proudly presents that Artrach has performed as the opening act for Kiss-cover band KISS Forever Band. I wonder whether this band has the capability to come up with bigger shows, and that’s when I start to listen to the 5-track record.

The first impression that I got from the songs was: ‘No, not again a band that comes up with regular intros, general guitar riffs and the same vocals that I’m familiar with in this scene. ‘The songs are not that inspiring to listen to for a lot of times. The guitar riffs are just ok, varying from strong and heavy to some technical solos (the ones you should try at home). Yet, I do not recognize something that I’ve never heard before. Actually, the guitar gets a little bit annoying now and then. Sometimes the solos have this loops that do not fit at all, for instance on the second song ‘Dawn of terror’. 

The rest of the instruments are also just ok, the drums have a good variety and changes from slowly to speed up double bass. The synths could be a little more emphasized in my opinion, to create a better sphere, but maybe the band has good reasons for the fact that they’re hard to notice.

Then I’d like to say something about the vocals. The singer is actually pretty good, but he’s using so many different styles. This is not stimulating listening to the record that often. That is a shame, because I can really hear the enthusiasm that the musicians have put in the cd. That’s also because of the way that the, actually not impressing, biography is written but also because I can see the structures and the band was searching for. For instance, the chorus on ‘Mystery of death’ and the interlude on ‘Trapped’ are not that good, but they are changes in songs that make clear that the band is able to make schemes in songs and that they’re not afraid of coming up with such material as this.
Therefore, Artrach is getting a sufficient grade, in additional time.

Track list:
1. Deliverance
2. Dawn of Terror
3. Faceless God
4. Mystery of Death
5. Trapped

Line-up:
Guy Commeene:  lead guitars
Diëgo Denorme:  drums
Glenn Devos:   vocals
Christof Colle:  keyboards
Wouter Nottebaert:  bass guitars
David Vandewalle:   rhytm guitars