*. D'arcana .*

Album: As Worlds They Rise & Fall (2005)
Genre: Prog Rock (Psych./Space Rock/Symphonic)  /  USA

An interesting album from this American trio.The vocals are like a cross between Phideaux and the singer from TORMAN MAXT.The sound quality could be a lot better. Lots to like here but during this 66 minutes there is a lot of average material as well. "Sunrise" has the focus on the vocals while the drums pound. It's kind of noisy but that could be the sound quality. It sounds much better when it settles down. It kicks back in around 4 minutes. "Lilith" features some noisy guitar with the bass and drums upfront as well. "Earthbound" opens with a gong then the music kicks in. It sounds like mellotron here while the vocals and drums lead the way. "Awakening" has some different vocal arrangements early. "Vertigo" hits the ground running with vocals. Abrasive guitar too especially a minute in.It does settle in before 1 1/2 minutes with the guitar outfront. Nice bass lines to follow. Ripping guitar follows then we get a calm late with mellotron-like sounds. "Casting Shadows" features strummed guitar as vocals join in around a minute. A cool track reminding me of FLOYD. "Adrift" is a dreamy piece of music with vocals. "Shimmer" has these theatrical vocals bringing Hammill to mind. Acoustic guitar and a GENESIS flavour a minute in. Back to those vocals again as contrasts continue. "Waive The Sales" is good as the guitar starts to solo quickly with background synths. I like it. It gets crazy late. "By This River" is mellow with vocals reminding me of USE OF ASHES. "Wrong Number (For All)" opens with spoken words then vocals in this laid back number. Sax in this one too. "Balance" is vocal and strummed guitar led. Some pedal steel guitar in this one too. "As Worlds They Rise And Fall" is the 23 1/2 minute closer.This one is a tough one to digest for me. I just don't think it's very well done and there are little in the way of highlights. A disappointing ending really to this album. As I said to open there are some really good songs here but i'm let down a lot as well throughout this album. Review by "Mellotron Storm" (Prog Archives).

RATING:  7.5 / 10

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