Trocaria - The Dark Nears
Trocaria is a U.S. Symphonic Metal band that formed back in 2007 and since them has slowly worked their way up to unleashing their debut full length upon the world. In contrast to what the average Symphonic Metal listener may presume, there are no female vocals included on the album and no clean operatic Power Metal sounding vocals either. In fact, one could easily consider 'The Dark Nears' more of a hybrid of Symphonic Black/ Death Metal. The music- all performed by Joan Palmer- is very peaceful, organic, and perfectly suits the idea of how a Symphonic Metal album should sound. Then come in the snarls and growls of Jon S. who turns the once pleasant dream into a darkened nightmare that would seem like it aligned more with Siebenburgen than Therion. Of course, this isn't a bad thing as tracks like "Cursed" and "Martyr" carry on in slow, almost Doom Metal fashion with a mix of chugging guitars and the keyboards and other ochestrations which hold everything together. Despite the album somewhat leaning towards a heavier driection, listeners will really be drawn to the symphonic instruments, whether it is the backing keyboards on "Martyr" or the bell gongs on "Suicide."
On the downside, Trocaria keep their music rather simple. Every track tends to trudge along at te same pace without much in the way of ballads or fast pieces of music that can really get a roller coaster rhythm going. Even the closing "The Dark Nears," which feels like the dreariest and Doom laden of all the tracks still retains a rather basic formula that puts it in line with all the other tracks. Ultimately, 'The Dark Nears' is not going to be something that is really going to get a rise out of listeners. On the other hand, atmosphere and classical beauty turn it into a rather depressing, innovative listen that isn't bogged down by static or distortion and creates sort of a Gothic-Black Metal opera that fans of more melodramatic Metal is sure to enjoy. The only issue is most of the vocals will probbaly be difficult to understand so to get the full experience one should look them up online so they can follow the story Trocaria has to tell.
On the downside, Trocaria keep their music rather simple. Every track tends to trudge along at te same pace without much in the way of ballads or fast pieces of music that can really get a roller coaster rhythm going. Even the closing "The Dark Nears," which feels like the dreariest and Doom laden of all the tracks still retains a rather basic formula that puts it in line with all the other tracks. Ultimately, 'The Dark Nears' is not going to be something that is really going to get a rise out of listeners. On the other hand, atmosphere and classical beauty turn it into a rather depressing, innovative listen that isn't bogged down by static or distortion and creates sort of a Gothic-Black Metal opera that fans of more melodramatic Metal is sure to enjoy. The only issue is most of the vocals will probbaly be difficult to understand so to get the full experience one should look them up online so they can follow the story Trocaria has to tell.
- Gates Of Hell
- Cursed
- Is It Just A Shadow
- Martyr
- The Burning Man
- Suicide
- Possession
- The Dark Nears
