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Minora: Imago
28/04/11 || Altmer
The name sounds very proggy. The first actual riffing I hear reminds me of Tool. There are some Demians vocals over the top. The feeling I get from this album though, is that they wanted it to sound exactly like all the other prog metal bands in the world. And by prog I don’t mean the “Dream Theater” prog, but the “Porcupine Tree” brand of prog: melancholy, lots of notes, keyboards, and emotional vocals. There’s no “look at me” soloing here – this falls squarely in the column that Porcupine Tree want to be big in.
It’s too much to call them a rip-off, but they try very hard to be in that niche. The problem is, though, is that due to this they sound very, very anonymous. The songwriting is nothing special, either – some of the riffs are pretty inspired, but as a whole the choruses go nowhere. There are no real sugary hooks that draw you in. And with that lacking, the whole ability of the genre to entice you is gone: when you’re playing this type of music you need to be able to write both powerful riffing and good, hooky choruses to get where you want to be. Steven Wilson has an uncanny knack for it. Danny Cavanagh and friends have a knack for that. Nicolas Chapel (of Demians) has a knack for that too, more than these guys. These guys are basically the boring version of all those bands. And when they rip off Tool it’s just wrong. Come on, guys, we get it, you like “Jambi”. So do I. But don’t overdo it.
There is nothing explicitly wrong with this album, but there’s nothing explicitly right about it either. That’s what it eventually all boils down to. I’m into this genre, I’ve been here before, and I can recognise that this is quality enough but just too dull to go anywhere. Try some hooks in your songs next time and you will be a hit with me. For now, you miss the boat. But if you work on it you could probably catch the next one.
Recommendation: Sugar, and spices. Your meal is bland. And keep the Maynard-esque vocal moments.
- Information
- Released: 2011
- Label: Dead Tree Music
- Website: Minora MySpace
- Band
- Tommy Zetterlund: vocals
- Claudio Oyarzo: guitars
- Kenny Jakobsson: guitars
- Djalil Benarradj: bass
- Fredrik Sandberg: keyboards
- Joseph Astorga: drums
- Tracklist
- 01. Mountain
- 02. November
- 03. Disconnected
- 04. Between the Window Glasses
- 05. A New Dawn
- 06. My Goodbye
- 07. Descending
- 08. Joga
- 09. 4th Drive
- 10. Silence
