Arbor – The Plutonian Shore (2012)

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With a very interesting musical proposal today we have Wisconsin’s Arbor and their debut release “The Plutonian Shore”. In the ten tracks presented in this first effort, the band mixes folk elements with Doom and Post-Metal sections in a very unusual and sometimes weird sounding fashion, but it all comes together in a very exciting way giving them a very fresh and unique sound.

Setting a very ethereal and folk-ish mood with opener track, the band quickly comes back with very aggressive vocals and a Doom-vibe on “Trees”. The music is very well crafted to not give things away too quickly and build momentum, allowing the atmosphere and expectation to grow with every note. The band’s clean vocals are definitely an ‘acquired’ taste and for sure need some work, but they are used to perfection to contrast the harsh screams and the rest of the more ‘growly’ vocals.

The band is highly versatile and on tracks like “A Great Leap in the Dark” they give the impression to start playing a completely different style and then they return to their dark and ethereal vibe. The instrumentation in this release is quite excellent and some of the progressive elements mixed in-between are brilliantly arranged and fitted into the overall sound of the band. The mixture of melodic/folk passages and extremely aggressive sections is very well balanced and gives the band that extra kick to engage listeners like on “Begotten from Mother Earth”, one of our favorite tracks.

On tracks like “Forest of Despair” the band sends a very similar vibe to Doom greats Forest of Shadows and their legendary releases when painting desolate passages and making them more depressing with great percussions and string instruments. One track that really sticks to you is the very odd and more ‘mainstream sounding’ “Fragments of a Day”. This song is actually quite enjoyable… for people that don’t like Metal, but is still pretty interesting that the band chose to feature it at the end of the release.

As a whole, “The Plutonian Shore” is an excellent release that has showcases a band with incredible potential. The production values of this release leave a bit to be desired, but it nicely gives the band that ‘first album’ kind of vibe we are missing with all these fancy ‘demo’ releases coming out these days. If you are looking for an excellent mixture of Doom guitars, great combination of vocals and very subtle percussions, go to the band’s page and get this release for cheap.

Band: Arbor Album: The Plutonian Shore
Label: Self-Released

Release: July 13th, 2012

Oficial Site myspace

Genre: Folk, Doom, Post-Rock/Metal

Country: USA

Rating: 87/100
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