{"id":23266,"date":"2012-10-29T04:16:43","date_gmt":"2012-10-29T09:16:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=23266"},"modified":"2013-02-05T16:30:45","modified_gmt":"2013-02-05T21:30:45","slug":"enchantya-dark-rising-cd-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2012\/enchantya-dark-rising-cd-review\/","title":{"rendered":"EnChanTya | Dark Rising<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Joe Mis<\/span>
\n– Columnist —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Enchantya\"Dark Rising<\/em> is the debut release from Portugal\u2019s EnChanTya. The band bills itself as Progressive Goth Metal, and that seems to be an apt term. Their music is definitely a blend of the two genres -plus a little death metal – and thanks to the powerhouse vocals of Rute Fevereiro they deliver a unique sound.<\/p>\n

EnChanTya came together in 2004 when Rute Fevereiro decided to leave the all-female band Black Widow and move on to new projects. After a few demos, lineup changes, converts and good reviews, EnChanTya signed with Massacre Records to record their debut full length album. She is ably backed by orchestral drummer Jo\u00e3o P Monteiro, the excellent guitar duo of Nuno Seven and Emanuel Henriques, bassist Manuel Pinto and standout keyboard player Luis Fernandes. The band works well together, and handles the many trademark progressive elements cleanly and neatly.<\/p>\n

Rute has an interesting and flexible voice \u2013 she does \u201cbeauty and the beast\u201d vocals on her own, playing both parts. She has a clean voice that ranges from soft and clear to near operatic, and a death metal growl that can send chills down your spine. She uses the growl effectively, without overusing it or relying on it as a crutch. The songs are complex and loaded with tempo changes, varied moods and strong performances. At times Rute pushes just a little too hard at the high end of her range, but for the most part she is spot on. EnChanTya plays like a veteran act \u2013 and Dark Rising<\/em> is a well-polished debut release.<\/p>\n

There are numerous bright spots on the album, especially the fine intro and excellent musicianship on \u201cNo Stars In The Sky,\u201d a track that allows each member of the band a time in the spotlight. Heavy keyboards, crisp harmony vocals, and soaring guitars make \u201cNight In Whisper\u201d a strong and melodic track. \u201cClad In Black\u201d features a great twangy bass line, a catchy rhythm line, and vocals that run from operatic to full on death growls \u2013 perhaps Rute\u2019s strongest vocal performance. The band is equally at home with more conventional tracks like the moody \u201cLonging For You,\u201d the ballad-esque \u201cWinter Dreams\u201d, and the galloping and upbeat \u201cShe Devil.\u201d The best guitar work on the albums is undoubtedly on \u201cOcean Drops\u201d \u2013 a bouncy mid-tempo rocker filled with good hooks and great solos. The dynamic \u201cDark Rising\u201d is the band\u2019s signature track \u2013 nothing is left out and everything just works – easily the strongest song on the release.<\/p>\n

Overall, Dark Rising<\/em> is a solid album. Nicely recorded and for the most part well-engineered, it delivers dark Gothic metal with a progressive twist \u2013 favoring the heavier elements of music rather than leaning towards the more \u201cpop\u201d influences that Goth seems to be favoring more and more. If you are into Goth metal or are a fan of \u201cbeauty and the beast\u201d vocals EnChanTya will not disappoint. While not a major leap forward, this album is a tidy evolutionary step in the Goth genre, branching towards darker and heavier while adding complex prog metal tempos and harder elements. For a debut, it is excellent, and shows that EnChanTya and Rute Fevereiro will be forces to reckon with in the future.<\/p>\n

EnChanTya\u2019s Dark Rising is available now on Massacre Records.<\/p>\n

Genre: Progressive Goth Metal<\/p>\n

Band:
\nRute Fevereiro (vocals)
\nNuno Seven (guitar)
\nEmanuel Henriques (guitar)
\nManuel Pinto (bass)
\nJo\u00e3o P Monteiro (drums)
\nLuis \u2018Vlad\u2019 Fernandes (keyboards)<\/p>\n

Track Listing:
\n1.\tUnwavering Faith
\n2.\tNo Stars In The Sky
\n3.\tNight In Whisper
\n4.\tClad In Black
\n5.\tLonging For You
\n6.\tYour Tattoo
\n7.\tShe Devil
\n8.\tOcean Drops
\n9.\tDark Rising
\n10.\tWinter Dreams
\n11.\tFear Me When You Fall
\n12.\tInterlude \/ Become Of Me
\n13.\tMoonlighting The Dreamer<\/p>\n

Label: Massacre Records<\/p>\n

Website: http:\/\/www.enchantya.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven rating: 7.5 \/ 10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Joe Mis – Columnist — Dark Rising is the debut release from Portugal\u2019s EnChanTya. The band bills itself as Progressive Goth Metal, and that seems to be an apt term. Their music is definitely […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6772],"tags":[336,780,2267,2135,334],"class_list":{"0":"post-23266","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-arcrvws2012","7":"tag-cd","8":"tag-massacre-records","9":"tag-metal","10":"tag-progressive","11":"tag-review"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23266","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23266"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23266\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23266"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23266"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23266"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}