Eterna "Terra Nova" CD
[Crash]
Okay, the airy two-minute piano instrumental that starts this disc off gets me worried... surely this is going to be some sort of terrible atmospheric crap? Well, no, not really. This Brazilian act is basically a power metal band. However, I'm not sure that would be "power metal" in what I view as the most common sense, as it's really more of a traditional metal sort of style, it's not quite as flamboyant or technical as I tend to expect power metal to be, but at the same time... some of this sounds so 80's that it's almost unbelievable! There are some unusual time signatures and flashy lead breaks suggestive of a slightly progressive influence, but most of the riffing is pretty simple, and the structures are based on good ol' fist banging, catchy metal mania. It's not that catchy, but it's not so bad, and after getting used to the recording and everything I sort of like this. The singer is fucking awesome. I'll definitely say that. His voice does bear an uncanny resemblance to Rob Halford blending with any number of cock rock singers, but he hits every note perfectly, and drops some fucking sweet vocal harmonies. The chorus of "Desert Moon" is fucking ridiculous it's so memorable, I love it... it's a damn shame that the rest of the song is basically terrible. I can't figure out that combination of elements, but whatever. The chorus is a fucking goldmine. I'm confused by the fact that four of these songs are re-recordings of older Eterna tracks, and one is an additional radio edit of the title track (Merely chopping the running down to around five minutes from six - what's the fucking point?), basically making this a lengthy EP with an additional EP's worth of "bonus tracks" slapped in the middle or something. I don't know, I just don't understand that thought process. The older songs are decent too, though. Some of the stuff is a bit faster, but for the most part the approach is very much in line with the new material. The production is sort of weird. It's not bad, but there are some major problems, and overall it's just strange. The drums are way too rigid for one thing, and that bugs me. But other than that I find the guitar tone to be too... I don't know what the hell it is, there's a really weird texture to it, I don't know if it's an effect or what, but it's not smooth enough. The leads tend to sound really clear, but the rhythm guitars need work. The keyboards sound fine, and their place in the mix is alright, but I'd like to hear them take more of a back seat more often. I think it's a combination of issues: The lack of depth to the percussion, the lack of bass guitar in the mix, the lack of crunch to the distortion... I'd just rethink that whole area, but it could be worse. The layout is pretty horrendous. The cover painting isn't so bad, it's just goofy. Though I will confess that I totally love the 80's flare of the logo, which definitely has a classic metal aesthetic. As with many Crash releases the rest of the layout is wasted on huge thanks lists, repeating track lists, and other nonsense, as well as the lyrics for a few songs. The lyrics are so stupid and meaningless that I'm not even going to waste my time discussing them. Probably the biggest problem with this disc is that the songs are too long, though. Averaging about six minutes each, not one of these tracks really needs to be six minutes, least of all go-nowhere instrumentals like "Levitas". But this is pretty damn good for what it is. A little boring, but if they could consistently write songs as strong as "Mother Land" or "Goodbye My Dear Ophelia" with choruses as massive as that of "Desert Moon" they'd be fucking great. I definitely hope they reach that point. (6/10)
Running time - 59:10, Tracks: 11
[Notable tracks: Mother Land, Goodbye My Dear Ophelia]
Crash Music - http://www.crashmusicinc.com

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