Izvajalec: Demians
Založba: Inside Out Records
Izid: 2008
Ocena: 4/5
Demians is really the name of a band with just one member. That’s the French multi-instrumentalist Nicolas Chapel. Chapel released his first album, titled Building An Empire, on the renowned German label Inside Out. As soon as Inside Out sent out the first promo CDs and the first illegal rips hit the web, whispers started going around among critics and listeners that a new star was being born in Demians (a star in the relative sense, of course, since hardly anyone who does something without commercial potential ever manages to get famous). The talk caught my attention too: this time it’s apparently not the classic technical metal Inside Out is known for, but music built on more ambient textures.
Building An Empire is set up in a seriously lofty way. The title alone tells you what Nicolas Chapel is out to do. He’s trying to build something with his music. But what? He builds incredible atmospheres, tears them down with heavy metal riffs, and then goes right back to his ambient stuff. All the longer tracks start out similarly – very slowly, with mystical and occasionally oriental patterns that suck you right in. The tension keeps ramping up until the guitar brings the musical empire crashing down. But that wrecking wave is a real blessing, because it means Chapel gets to start building his walls of sound all over again, with even more punch. The album is ambitious as hell, and all those goals actually pay off in the end. The right blend of post-rock, progressive metal and symphonic rock gives the record all the right ingredients, and you really do feel like something worth hearing has been built here. Chapel doesn’t follow clichés, he carves out his own path, which feels familiar at moments but is still fresh enough to hook you. The record was also praised by the respected Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree), who said Building An Empire is a very mature piece of work for a debut. And he’s right. The record is composed in a way that would make you think it’s the work of a seasoned master, but on the other hand, a certain naivety in the music, along with technical and production shortcomings, still show that Demians is just getting started.
After the album’s release, Nicolas Chapel is also heading out on tour, where he won’t be playing all the instruments himself. He’ll be joined by a drummer, a bassist and a keyboardist. I’m really curious how these walls of sound will translate to the live shows. If he manages to conjure up the same kind of magic on stage as on the album, then in a few years Demians will, in my view, become one of the biggest (though not the most popular) acts working under the prog banner.
It’s one of the more interesting albums we can expect from Inside Out, a label that mostly specializes in rather generic progressive metal and neo and symphonic prog. Building An Empire is a much-needed breath of fresh air for them, because its innovation and creativity really do reach a high level. I won’t claim the album has no flaws. They’re definitely there, but that just means Nicolas Chapel can make something even better down the line. Technical mistakes can be fixed; the bigger problem would be if Chapel lacked talent. There’s no help for that. But there’s nothing to fear on that front. Let’s hope Demians make it to somewhere near us, and that we get to follow them for a long time on their (actually his, unless Chapel decides to record with other musicians in the future) musical journey. The start of that journey is Building An Empire, which truly builds a magnificent empire of sound.
Zasedba
Nicolas Chapel – all instruments, vocals
Produkcija
Nicolas Chapel
Seznam skladb
1. The Perfect Symmetry
2. Shine
3. Sapphire
4. Naive
5. Unspkoen
6. Temple
7. Empire
8. Sand
