|
ARCANA: Body of Sin Release year: 2002 Format: Picture 7"/8 cm CD-single Tracklist: 1: We Rise Above Total playingtime: 9:02 min General Facts: Body of Sin was released as a picture 7" with gatefold cover limited to a 1000 copies as well as in the shape of a 8cm CDS limited to 3000 copies. Review: It once again seems like Peter Petterson and CMI have decided to stick to the idea of releasing a small taster prior to the release of the new Arcana album. This time it is a little bit more exclusive though. Judging by the visual side of the 7" version and the fact that Body of Sin was released in two formats, this release may very well become a collectors item in a couple of years. But what about the music then? Well, Body of Sin starts up with the track We Rise Above. This track has got many of the traditional Arcana ingredients, for example the growing sound texture which starts with a simple tune and gradually becomes more and more bombastic and rich. There are some distinctions from the past Arcana sound though. First, I think the general sound is different in some ways. The track feels somewhat brighter and clearer than the Arcana tracks of the past, which were often were pretty diffuse, like old portraits compared to a new one. The earlier Arcana tracks also had a somewhat cathedral-like sound where the music felt more arcane but this track feels more present and as I said earlier, it feels clear, which may be due to a more acoustic approach. The other big difference is the vocals. Gone are the excellent vocals of Ida Bengtsson and they are now replaced by the voice of Ann-Mari Thim. I don't think she succeeds in living up to the standard of her predecessor, even though she has a nice voice. It may just be me who are very attached to the singing of Ida and are experiencing problems in accepting this little change. I also think Peter's voice sounds different. He's singing in lower tunes, and not as high as before. I think the track is quite nice though. It's not as dramatic and fatal as many of the old Arcana tracks. Instead it's kind of easy. The other track is more obscure. Peter's singing style is even more unclear and lower here, and it sometimes sounds like he's practically mumbling. There's also a strange melody playing around throughout the track and the atmosphere is somewhat odd and mystic. I think this track is quite boring in general compared to the first track. Well, what more can I say? This release didn't really live up to my expectations in general and perhaps it's due to the changes I mentioned. I still want to point out, though, that I think it's good to see that Peter is experimenting with the sound of this project instead of letting it stagnate and grow boring. Still no songs to match the quality of Angel of Sorrow or Winds of the lost soul. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Click here to visit the Arcana homepage |
Released by: