We’re told in no uncertain terms that The Moor’s music is for fans of Gojira, Katatonia, Evergrey, Dark Tranquillity and Soilwork, with the added information that Messrs Stanne and Strid from these latter two bands have collaborated with them. The band deserve credit in their own right, having formed in 2009 and released three albums including this one. Progressive metal is the broad brush with which their music can be described.
A dramatic canvas is displayed. The orchestral opener “Il Terna dell’Ombra” is like the soundtrack to an adventure. Sometimes there’s a disconnect between these kinds of intros and the main body of the album, and to a point there this is the case here, but there is intent and dramatic energy in “The Overlord Disease”, albeit in a different style. I’m not sure if it’s me or the band who is trying to make their mind up what that style is. It’s an expansive kind of progressive metal, I suppose, with a strong emphasis on songmanship but also on melodic heaviness. The fast drum prevails on “Illuminant” along with a brightly menacing guitar sound. A clean – growly vocal combination is used. Whilst there’s a good deal of energy, the clean vocals, while expressing the sense of drama, didn’t seem strong or powerful enough for me.
The guitar work on the other hand does have charisma. The title song “Ombra” (Shadow) follow. Building up nicely, this is where the comparison with Gojira and Dark Tranquillity come in. It is colourful with elements of flashy classic metal but also death metal. Most important it flows nicely, transitioning between chunky melody and darker passages. This time the vocals do it justice, and create an edgy mood and culminating with a climactic orchestral section and a growl to remind us of the song’s title. A dark march accompanies “This River Spoke”. The river may have spoken but this river flows, accelerating gradually and resulting in a strong melodic song. This would be a great live song thanks to its pumping, uplifting nature.
By contrast “Lifetime Damage” and “Withered”, while having the melodic qualities, try too hard to be an epic song. The chunky and deathly “Our Tides” does have dark menace. That’s impressive but the clean vocals water it down too much for me. The familiar dark progressive metal tones introduce “Passage”, and serve the song well, giving it a strong aura which stays with it until a break and an eerie acoustic passage. This adds interest to the song. An expressive guitar passage then leads us back into the chunky main refrain. “Vitreous” borders on progressive metal bombast. The story-telling of the lyrics has a Wolverine or Dark Tranquillity quality but without the personality of Stanne, which to be fair would be impossible to achieve. To finish, The Moor crank up the melodic death metal, countering it with a weaker clean vocal narrative chorus. “Thirst” is the song, and again I found myself being impressed with the rampant melodic progressive metal but underwhelmed by the clean vocal work.
There are a number of musical influences here. The question is whether The Moor draw them all together effectively. For me, this was a mixed bag. I felt at times that the band was trying to do too much and lost their way, or seen another way they had the concept and the breadth but the communication of it was blurred. As a result, some songs were stronger than others. The more straightforward ones like “The River Spoke” were, to my ears, the most effective. I thought “Ombra” had some great passages, especially at the heavier end of the spectrum, but wasn’t convinced by the song delivery or structures as a whole.
(6/10 Andrew Doherty)
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