|
Reviews:
GOTHIC
BEAUTY MAGAZINE (USA)
Arcane Elitism is the high-minded realization of the enigmatic
IkonX and an impressive supporting cast, including Spyros
Giasafakis and Evi Stergiou of Daemonia Nymphe. Acts such
as Arcana, Autumn Tears, and Days of the Trumpet Call
must make way in the neo-classical pantheon for this somber,
bold and dramatic opus. It begins unforgettably with a
rousing storm of drumming and tense, urgent orchestration,
and proceeds majestically into two of its best tracks,
"Mesmerism of the Temptresses' Sirens" and "Vacchia."
The former is characterized by monastic recitation and
whispered summons, elevated by Evi's sibylline voice and
IkonX's cinematic passages on keyboards. Spyros' classical
guitar on "Vacchia" and "Summoning the Muse" gently warms
the rarefied atmosphere, and the combination of almost
martial drumming and dark vocals rolls in to quicken and
then restrain the solemn pace. Ritualistic lyrics pay
homage to the female incarnation of the moon, Selene,
and to the Sirens of antiquity who mesmerized and enslaved
their hearers. The mood of the album brings to mind an
enthralled hero from mythology, his extreme power under
almost willing restraint by beauty. Arcane Elitism is
another excellent release from The Fossil Dungeon, a label
gaining a reputation for its extraordinary aesthetic and
artists of quality.
(5/5)
|
