Arcane Grail – “Arya Marga : Ninefold Path to the Innocence” (2009)

Label : Musica Production

Review by Tony Cannella

The Russian band Arcane Grail came into existence in 2001 and have previously released one full-length CD in 2006 titled “Mysteries of the Ancient Charnel”, now three years later the band have resurfaced with their sophomore effort titled “Arya Marga: Ninefold Path to the Innocence”. The band is comprised of six members – including the duel male/female vocals of Demether and Natalie and they play a pretty exciting blend of symphonic black metal combined with melodic death metal and that hybrid is on full display on “Arya Marga“ – a conceptual piece of work that the band obviously put a lot of thought and effort into. After a slow build up the opening track – coincidentally enough – titled “Arcane Grail” really sets a fast, brutal pace to the proceedings. This is a fast, heavy and energetic opening song that showcases the many different vocal styles that Arcane Grail have to offer, from black/death metal style of singing to the operatic style that Natalie The Grail performs so well. The next track “of Snake and Raven” is really a departure from what one might expect. It starts off with a beautiful piano intro and Natalie‘s operatic voice takes the lead at first, before she is joined by the brutal death vocals. This is probably my favorite track, mainly because it is different and it has a good melody throughout and the vocals are fantastic as well – the slower parts of this track are very passionate and beautiful and the heavy parts are chaotic and it all comes together to create a great song. “Autumn Wed Us, Sinned and Lone” is another strong number – it starts off with a symphonic vibe, but it quickly turns into one of the heavier songs this CD has to offer. Once again, the vocals are very well done and the different styles seem to work very well together. Other highlights include: “Imprisoned in the Greatest War”, “Sorrow of Forgotten Pride” and “Die Sonnenhymne” (this song is just an opera piece that sees Natalie showing off her immense vocal talents). In the end, “Arya Marga” is a pretty consistent release all the way through that never fails to hold your attention. The 9-songs and 40-minutes worth of material on this CD is quite impressive. Arcane Grail are a band that should appeal to fans of conceptual, symphonic black metal, the world over – just one listen to “Arya Marga” and that fact becomes abundantly clear.

Rating – 75/100

Tracklist

1. Arcane Grail
   
2. of Snake and Raven
   
3. Autumn Wed Us, Sinned and Lone
4. Renaissant the Reverie
5. Sorrow of Forgotten Pride
6. Imprisoned in the Greatest War
7. Die Sonnenhymne
8. Iniquitous Yoke
9. Святой Грааль

Line Up

• Demether – Vocals
• Natalia Kempin – Vocals
  
• Eugen – Guitars 
• Anastasia – Keyboards
• Kir – Bass 
• Alexander – Drums