Artrosis – In The Flowers Shade

Artrosis – In The Flowers Shade / 2006 Metal Mind / 11 Tracks / http://artrosis.rockmetal.art.pl / http://www.metalipolis.pl / Reviewed 15 October 2006

Artrosis comes from an earlier style in metal, in that the band blends together nineties goth with slightly metal, slightly industrial arrangements to create what would ultimately be Artrosis’ sound. The sound is not hard to the point of being thrash or death metal, but what Artrosis does would be cannibalized by bands like Evanescence in the more current period.

Artrosis definitely occupies a precursor ground to acts like Nightwish and Sinister; the music while being radio friendly, seems a little older by this point. In a track like the second part to “Unreal Story”, the vocalist occupies a much more Sarah McLachlan sound while the band keeps the same dark, gloomy rock of the first part of “Unreal Story”. It seems that the band gets a little too strung out for “White Page” and that there needs to be a focusing event for the band so that they can get back on track. The combination of the constituent parts of Artrosis for the first of their gender signs tracks seems to be a step in the right direction, even if the vocals are not present. The band comes with previously unknown strength during this track, and it is with this strength firmly entrenched that Artrosis begins their “And I Will”. The much more contemplative sound to “And I Will” decreases the tempo that the band had created for the first gender sign track, but the presence of quicker guitars and drums at points during this track saves the band.

While there is this radio friendly sound to Artrosis that comes out time and time again on “In The Flowers Shade”, there does not seem to be that one track that will break them big. The songs are all solid, but the band does not find that proper arrangement that would allow everything to click. The over the top moaning of “Morpheus” is something that is quite different from what has been the case during earlier tracks on the disc, but it is only when the vocals achieve a more Switchblade Symphony sound that Artrosis begins to shine. If one is into bands like Sinister, NIghtwish, and the aforementioned Evanescence, “In The Flowers Shade” may be the next album to pick up. However, there is little here for a fan of metal or goth that has not been done in a way that is more impressive than Artrosis can craft for this album.

Top Tracks: And I Will, The Following Chapter

Rating: 4.6/10

[JMcQ]