MATERIA

Let me start out saying that I only review albums that I'm really passionate about; maybe it's a band I love or maybe it's a band who's talented but still needs to work some things out. Well, right away, Novembre is one of my all-time favorite bands, so this is going to be a good review.

Now, I honestly had not heard of Novembre until Materia came out, but I had read (and listened) that this band was generally a very italian-influenced progressive rock-death-metal band. It's impossible not to put them in the exact same league as Opeth, Dark Tranquillity, In Flames, Cradle of Filth...Novembre came from this exact era and has all the influence and creativity to fit right in, with the 'unique twist' being they sound very italian in the musicianship. The only difference is, Novembre never got the recognition they deserved, partially because they stayed a little more 'weird' and 'experimental' than some of the others, they've evolved, but haven't made a 'mainstream album', if you will. Now, this was never a bad thing for Novembre, this has given them a very, very loyal, albeit smaller, fanbase, but if I'd had known about this band sooner, I probably would have definatly wanted them to make at least ONE album which really exposed them. Luckily, this was Materia...

Right away, there's many changes with Materia. The first, and most important, is this album is very prog rock influenced, really, really taking taking the direction of the soft parts on Novembrine Waltz. Mostly, there's no growling here, but that doesn't mean this isn't Novembre. The drummer still uses the same 'metal style' drumming, which makes you know this is the exact same band, the guitars are just as intricate and progressive, the singing is just as artistic, and the lyrics of coarse, are Novembre and even better. The main difference is instead of having a heavy sound, everything is generally soft prog rock with a very distinct death metal twist. This is truly a death metal band doing a soft album, this is definatly Novembre, it definatly is not the mega-huge change like between Opeth's Deliverance and Damnation (although that was no bad thing.) The second most important thing is the production, this album is more clear, stereo-worthy, and evolved sounding than a pop record. This is a first for Novembre, their production is usually a little muddy, and I have to say, I NEVER want them to give up this new production technique, it sounds amazing.

But for the metal lovers who just cannot enjoy a album without at least one growled part, fear not; half of this album has small growled parts. And what's better, is the growled parts are more distinct, clear, upbeat, powerful, and generally amazing than Novembre's heavy parts have ever been. Remember Love Story from years back? The heavy parts sound really distinct and punky almost, such as that song. And trust me, it is better than Novembre have ever sounded. This is one of my favorite albums of all time, and it's really the formula they need to stick with; the rest of their stuff ends up sounding really 'washed out' and 'drone' compared to this cd =/. But no fuss really, because their past albums are not bad either.

Great album!