ACTAEON

A somewhat disappointing first impression from this Finnish dark metallers, Aberrant Vascular's small discography has been met with mixed acclaim. When listening, I can readily tell why; the band plays a unique style of symphonic metal that is very experimental. Although there are typical elements of symphonic metal here such as operatic vocals and symphonic keyboards at work, the way in which the multiple elements is put together is quite different from what I might expect from a typical band in the genre. It's less-than-generic approach aside, Aberrant Vascular's first demo 'Actaeon' is a somewhat cheap impression of the band, managing to get the avant-garde and gothic horror vibe across, but with a lack of melody, variety, and a generally cheap sounding recording across the board.

The music of Aberrant Vascular is fairly dark, obviously taking a hint from goth metal bands. Unfortunately, the dark and theatrical feel that the music attempts to get across is severely curtailed by the cheap nature of the execution, in particular; the symphonic keys. While obviously meant to emulate a real orchestra, the synths used (while not played poorly by any measure) have a tone to them that makes 'Actaeon' sound too often like the soundtrack to a 'haunted house' level of some classic video game. The instruments are rarely very technical, instead leaving the spotlight to operatic tenor Vladimir Lumi, who has a great and powerful voice.

Saving a few second pause in the music, there is really no telling apart the two songs. There is a lack of any memorable melody and the songs feel as if they lack cohesion as individual compositions. A disappointing introduction to this band, although their unique sound does lend itself to the possibility the band could make something much stronger out of it, with a little polish.

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