Soen - Lykaia
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Published February 2 2017
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*=Staff's pick
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Sectarian*
Orison*
Lucidity
Opal
Jinn*
Sister
Stray
Paragon |
Genre |
Retro/Progressive Hard Rock |
Joel Ekelöf
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Vocals
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Tracks |
8 |
Marcus Jidell
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Guitar
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Running time |
49 Min. |
-
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Guitar
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Label |
UDR
Music |
Stefan Stenberg
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Bass
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Release |
February 3, 2017 |
Martin Lopez
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Drums
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Country |
Sweden |
Lars Åhlund
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Organ/Piano
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Producer |
Marcus Jidell |
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Similar artists |
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Swedish outfit Soen puts out its third album and takes
us through a story based on some rituals taking place in Ancient Greece.
Also musically the band follows a particular string, but I wouldn't
say that the musical inspiration hails from that part of the world though,
even if there are some indications that it does from time to time over
the record with certain things. Yet I am very far from being an expert
in that specific area and accordingly I prefer to not paint myself into
a corner that I can't ever escape from, so I am probably better off
focusing on the record's cardinal side instead.
Lykaia comprises chiefly songs in a blend of retro, progressive
and experimental stuff. It's kind of a slow moving record every once
in a while and occasionally I see it as a little bit repetitive too,
although it actually isn't really, but it's like it somehow tends to
come out through the same kind of atmosphere all the time, where the
music is constantly covered by a gloomy aura, and therefore one song
becomes close to another in some way. The vocal performance from Joel
Ekelöf is pretty unique and he has the ability and presence to
go well together with the music. He completes the songs with his kind
of easy, yet emotional, style and definitely puts some life to the record
and brings it out of its darkened mood a little bit.
The first few times I listened to this piece of work I
felt like it could develop into something very enjoyable and entertaining
and I instantly had high hopes for it turning out to be a great record
along the road. Alas, later on it just didn't respond positively to
my initial impressions and about 20 attempts further down the lane I've
come to a conclusion that even if it is an interesting, and maybe even
a bit fascinating, record indeed it doesn't hold the capacity to be
amazing, but more just an acceptable product that gets a seal of approval,
yet with a small note that a purchase of the record is nothing that
earns a top position on the priority list.
Performance
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Originality
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Production
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Vocals
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Songwriting
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Summary
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