Raspail Reviews
Heathen Harvest
http://www.heathenharvest.com/article.php?story=20080512030840665
Four years on from their last album, Le Serpent Rouge, the Swedish quintet led by Peter Bjärgö returns with Raspail, their sixth album and their strongest set of songs to date. There are still significant traces of the middle-eastern influences and ethnic instrumentation that were so prominent on Le Serpent Rouge, but Raspail finds the band drawing on the moods and atmospheres of all of their previous releases, from the melancholic darkness of Dark Age Of Reason through the neo-classical grandeur of Inner Pale Sun to the piquant exotica of Le Serpent Rouge, synthesising all these elements into a newly holistic entity, a supremely confident ensemble at the height of their powers. Arcana are blessed with three exceptional vocalists in Bjärgö himself, his wife Ia, and Ann-Mari Thim, and vocals play a more prominent role on Raspail than on any previous Arcana album.
Raspail’s ten tracks occupy an all-too-brief 38 minutes of playing time, commencing with the stately minor-key chords of ‘Abrakt’. A cold and gloomy atmosphere is conjured as Peter Bjärgö’s commanding baritone voice delineates an apocalyptic vision of human extinction, a subject which will be returned to later in the album on the standout track ‘Out Of The Gray Ashes’. This is followed by ‘Sigh Of Relief’, a muted and gentle short instrumental piece dominated by a tinkling piano line, which does indeed provide some respite after the strident dramatics of ‘Abrakt’. ‘Invisible Motions’ features the first female vocals on Raspail – with the song being something of a showcase for the talents of Ia Bjärgö, who sings her own lyrics over a powerful backdrop of percussion provided by Matthias Borgh. ‘Outside Your World’ returns to the piano lines of ‘Sigh Of Relief’, this time accompanied by Peter’s vocals, starting with whispers of yearning low in the mix, but blossoming magnificently into graceful expanses of bittersweet melancholy.
The next three songs constitute the real core of Raspail, and each is outstanding in its own way. The instrumental ‘Parisal’ hearkens back to the middle-eastern palette of Le Serpent Rouge, with hammered dulcimer and a sinuous, droning reed instrument, something like a zurna, I think, writhing hypnotically over djembe and darabouka drums. ‘Autumnal’ is another female vocal showcase track like ‘Invisible Motions’, with the lyrics and soaring operatic soprano voice of Ann-Mari Thim being the focus of attention this time. The sparse, repetitious piano line here recalls some of Burzum’s minimalist ambient pieces such as ‘Tomhet’. After this, Peter’s voice returns on ‘Out Of The Gray Ashes’, along with female backing vocals, forcefully strummed acoustic guitar – the first guitar on the album – and more dulcimer. Here, as on much of 2002’s Inner Pale Sun album, Peter’s deep, warm yet desolate vocals and the overall arrangement of the song are reminiscent of Burning World-era Swans. The lyrics describe post-apocalyptic devastation, yet they offer a slim hope of redemption and regeneration:
Out of the gray ashes A seed will grow…
‘Lost In Time’ maintains the expansive, complex sounds of the previous track, with interesting percussion including finger cymbals and orchestral strings providing the foundation over which Peter laments a lost love. ‘In Remembrance’ is another brief, piano-led instrumental in the vein of ‘Sigh Of Relief’ – these pieces provide restful interludes between the louder, more dramatic songs, with a blend of distant, reverbed piano with ambient atmospherics that is reminiscent of the work of fellow Swedes and one-time Cold Meat Industry labelmates Beyond Sensory Experience. After this, it seems as if a big production number to close the album is a foregone conclusion. Arcana manage to second-guess you, though, and closing track ‘Circumspection’ maintains the downbeat mood, however, with whispered male vocals over slow sweeps of orchestral strings and wordless female vocals, an artfully anticlimactic conclusion to a wonderful album.
As the Raspail press release acknowledges, Arcana have always been and will continue to be compared to Dead Can Dance, but whilst it’s undeniable that Dead Can Dance have provided a major wellspring of inspiration for Arcana, it’s also evident that Arcana have now proved themselves to be so much more than mere copyists. The emotional atmospheres evoked by Raspail are as invitingly shadowy and enticing as the lush green woodlands of the album’s booklet photography, and worlds apart from the callow melodramatics of the legions of darkness-fixated goth bands, who’d sell their souls to sound like Arcana if only they had the imagination. Raspail is highly recommended to all those whose inclinations towards the dark side are refracted through subtlety and intelligence. Long-time Arcana fans will find their faith in the band amply justified here, whilst for those who have yet to discover the band’s delights, there’s no better place to start – although after six albums, isn’t it about time for a ‘Best Of’ collection? And on a personal note, I’m very much looking forward to seeing Arcana’s first-ever UK performance, supporting Sol Invictus in London on October 4.
Gothic Paradise
http://www.gothicparadise.com/arcana.htm
After a few quick releases a few years ago, it's been a long wait for this latest work. Peter and his band have been hard at work at creating yet another masterpiece. Fans will be pleased to hear the solid classical bombastic Arcana sound in full force on this album. As with previous releases the packaging presented as stunning, with a 12 page booklet containing lyrics and a host of beautiful photography and other information. With this release coming to us from Kalinkaland Records and license in North America by Projekt Records, they'll get some great and well-deserved worldwide exposure.
This album hearkens back to similar styles of Inner Pale Sun and ...The Last Embrace with a combination of powerful medieval music along with dreamy ethereal and neo-classical masterpieces. "Abrakt" is of the classic Dead Can Dance style, which in a certain form has now become the classic Arcana style with solid drums and Peter's deep vocals with layers of synths. Skip ahead a bit to "Invisible Motions" which is much the same style though with the female vocals that add a certain soft essence to the music over the somber brass, hammered dulcimer and moving percussion. Along these same lines is the track "Lost in Time" which fans will hopefully recognize from a couple of compilations recently released on Kalinkaland and Projekt as a sort of "single" or highlight selection from this album. It's definitely a favorite and has all of the elements of Arcana and the style of Dead Can Dance (forgive me for yet another reference). The mesmerizing music provide the perfect backdrop for Peter's moody vocals on this piece as it drifts along on a musical odyssey.
Breaking away from the standard moving pieces are some really nice ambient structures on the instrumental "Sigh of Relief", or one of my favorites, "Outside Your World" with beautiful, yet subtle piano slowly moving along slowly building with soft, deep vocals and softly building percussion. "Autumnal" becomes another soft and beautiful piece with somber piano reverberating under the soft synthesized strings and whispered female vocals that build up and caress the soul. However, the real dark ambient nature of "In Remembrance" is so solemn and grave is it drifts along that it nearly brings the listener's heart to a stop with the deep, brooding moods.
The final piece "Circumspection" is a spectre of familiar, dark styles similar to the very earliest tracks from this group hailing back to Dark Age of Reason. By the time the listener gets through this track and the rest of the album, we've been through a broad spectrum of moods and styles, lifting the spirits, calming the soul and injecting a somber, grounding dark mood to balance it all out. I think that with the band's experience of so many years producing this spellbinding music they managed to reach near perfection once again. This is definitely something that I can easily recommend to fans past and present as one of the best releases of the year and will be a classic for years to come.
Rating: 5/5
Re:gen Magazine
http://www.regenmag.com/Reviews-1424-Arcana-Raspail.html
In general, one could describe the atmosphere conjured within Raspail as being rather introspective, even bordering upon esoteric. Fronted by the hypnotizing, deep voice of Peter Bjärgö, this project in some ways could be compared to those fallen regents of the medieval genre, Dead Can Dance; even Bjärgö's own presence is at times like a specter of Brendan Perry. However, the key word here is "specter;" Arcana may also be quite rooted in the neoclassical, yet their facade is far more grim in comparison.
Across Raspail, this Swedish formation shares ruminations on solitude, loneliness, death, and love. Synths twinkle like stars on icicles, glinting sharp over somber cello hills in "Abrakt." Within moments, one can taste the somnambulistic qualities to this affair, yet when Bjärgö's silken baritone slithers alongside leathery thump of hand drums, the piece is illuminated with a graven, shamanistic tone. While the tribal motif remains, Arcana shift towards gypsy for "Invisible Motions;" with a warm rhythmic drone acting as its campfire, drums and hand cymbals thump and jingle like flames, keeping its murky string woodlands at bay. Slightly Arabesque and operatic, Ann-Mari Thim's voice here swirls through in a calming falsetto current, lending the track a fragile human presence. Set to a snake charmer's reedy, kazoo-like pungi, "Parisal" is a bit more emphatic. As its percussion morphs into woody bongos and sluggish kettle drums, a tinny jangle of dulcimer enters to lend these percussionists the shadowy airs of a lost medieval carnival. Bjärgö and Thim return to their vocal duties for "Out of the Gray Ashes," although his presence is more akin to a somber hum while she appears only as an aloof banshee. Central instead is a rough acoustic guitar, its jangle a myopic blur of metallic, pointed chords with only a thin brushstroke of weighty drum added to accent its slight consonance. Still there are moments when even Arcana's slight nuances of drums and guitar are dispelled in favor of midnight ambience. In the closing piece, "Circumspection," only a somber bass drone remains as backdrop, while feminine wails and masculine mutters are the only human souls housed within its void of twinkling xylophone crystals and melodramatic violin winds.
If one could pinpoint Raspail with a single word, it would perhaps be "haunted." This Swedish band here has effectively painted a work in ancient instruments and vivid hymns the feeling of being lost in a Scandinavian forest in winter, as the sun begins to set for a 30 day span. Chilly and certainly macabre, it is a must for fans of the bleaker ends of the neo-folk genre.
Side-Line
http://www.side-line.com/reviews_comments.php?id=30453_0_17_0_C
After numerous releases on Cold Meat Industry and 2 albums on their own label (Erebus) it took several years for Arcana to achieve this new album. Raspail is a mature release full of magic where the influence of Dead Can Dance is the strongest of all albums to date. The use of an impressive arsenal of acoustic and traditional instruments end in a meaningful ethereal release. The mix of female and male vocals (just like Dead Can Dance) adds diversity to the songs. The mystical mood of “Raspail” is impressive and constructed with delicacy. Arcana reached an impressive qualitative standard and only a few number of bands have been able to come close to the great Dead Can Dance like they here did. The main and only regret is that several songs remain pretty short and while the album (10 tracks) has a during time of 38”. All songs are like a particle of a compact and coherent entity with a few number of songs emerging from the tracklist. I’m thinking to the excellent opener “Abrakt” and other songs in the purest Dead Can Dance-vein like “Autumnal”, “Out Of The Grey Ashes” and “Lost In Time”. In my opinion, “Parisal” is the absolute pearl of “Raspail”. It’s an instrumental song made with an outstanding mystical beauty. The cover and booklet of the album are also quite representative for the music. The forest pictures are like in perfect harmony with the sensitive character of Arcana’s sound. It was definitely a worth to await this amazing new album of these Swedish masters of ethereal sound. A must have!
Releasemagazine
http://www.releasemagazine.net/Onrecord/orarcanar.htm
The sun sets in the West, clouds slowly rolling into mysterious darkness. Upon a hill, a man sits watching the heavens reveal their secrets in
an arcane code; a vernacular of patterns which exist on a scale beyond the scope of human comprehension. His eyes take in the endless vaccum for all that their nakedness can discern.
This description of balance between the terrestrial and the grandiose is how "Raspail" hits. It is very much a continuation of the style first undertaken with "Le Serpent Rouge", with added dynamics and once more, vocals. It is not the Arcana of old who are the only thing prevalent on "Raspail"; the militaristically cold darkness of Sophia also has been put into the proceedings. Long time fans will hear this effortlessly and be astounded. But whose, you may be asking. Beyond the languid piano soliloquies and precisely arranged exotic instrumentation there are messages being sent, words enunciated in whispers.
Is it just a case that no one can summon what Arcana do anymore or are they heralds of a new age of eclectic exploration.
Whatever one chooses to hope for with this album, one thing is certain: this is their "Within the Realm of a Dying Sun". It is classical, it is choral, it is esoteric - it is Arcana.
An Arcana who now with their five member line-up are possibly the most diverse atmospheric outfit operating in the world today.
I have to go back to Peter Bjargo's signature usage of heavily reverbed piano... like the rain slowly sliding down the panes of glass with the firelight throbbing within, condensation of breath being the impetus; remarkable intimacy is achieved on the tracks "Sigh of Relief" and "Outside Your World". Alternately, Swans fans are due for much enthrallment with "Out of the Gray Ashes" channeling the same resigned and disgusted tone with the world M. Gira showered us with when he himself penned the numbers "Was He Ever Alive?" and "A Parasite and Other Memories".
Arcana's lead member sits down with his acoustic guitar and a list, a litany one might say of both the causes
and the crimes humanity enthusiastically espouse and shall reap their reward for.
NonPop
http://www.nonpop.de/nonpop/index.php?type=review&p=articles&id=1558&area=1
Nach einigen Jahren der Stille meldet sich PETER BJÄRGÖ endlich mit einem neuen Album von ARCANA mit dem Titel "Raspail" bei einem neuen Label zurück. PETER BJÄRGÖ hatte bereits vor Jahren mit ARCANA und auch SOPHIA, seinem eher bombast-industrial-gefärbten und mittlerweile eingestellten Projekt, dem Label COLD MEAT INDUSTRY den Rücken gekehrt, da man sich dort insgesamt nicht mehr wohlfühlte. Nachdem die letzte Platte "Le Serpent Rouge" über verschiedene Label veröffentlicht wurde, ist man nun letztlich bei dem deutschen Label KALINKALAND gelandet, das für ARCANA sicher eine passende Heimat darstellt.
Wem ARCANA noch nichts sagt, dem kann man eigentlich elegant über den aktuellen Albumtitel die musikalische Ausrichtung näherbringen. PETER BJÄRGÖ will den Titel "Raspail" als Referenz verstanden wissen. Ein Foto des Grabes von FRANCOIS-VINCENT RASPAIL, einem französischen Wissenschaftler und Politiker, ist nämlich auf dem Cover des DEAD CAN DANCE-Albums "Within The Realm Of A Dying Sun" abgebildet. Will heißen: Musikalisch bezieht sich ARCANA auf DEAD CAN DANCE in ihrer sagen wir mal eher sakral-elektronischen Phase. Interviewaussagen zur Folge ist der Albumtitel auch nur reine Referenz und hat ansonsten keine inhaltlichen Auswirkungen auf "Raspail". Tatsächlich ist der Vergleich zu DEAD CAN DANCE ein sehr treffender, wobei man sich aber eben jenem sakral-elektronischen Stil verpflichtet fühlt und sich nicht in die später bei DEAD CAN DANCE doch dominierenden Weltmusiksphären begibt.
Die personelle Konstante bei ARCANA ist bisher eigentlich nur in PETER BJÄRGÖ zu sehen. Aktuell gehören noch seine Frau IA (oder CECILIA) BJÄRGÖ sowie ANN-MARI THIM und STEFAN ERIKSSON, die beide bereits seit "Inner Pale Sun" dabei sind, und MATTIAS BORGH zur Besetzung. STEFAN ERIKSSON hatte zudem auch bei SOPHIA mitgewirkt. "Inner Pale Sun" ist übrigens ein gutes Stichwort, da für mich persönlich der Sound der neuen Platte eben diesem Album am nächsten kommt. Aber auch "The Last Embrace" und das letzte Album "Le Serpent Rouge" scheinen für mich musikalisch deutlich durch.
Mit "Abrakt" startet das Album in typischer ARCANA-Manier. Ruhig angelegte Flächen werden von feinen Keyboard-Sprengseln umweht, bevor ein zurückhaltender Rhythmus einsetzt. Darüber liegt PETER BJÄRGOs Stimme, die sich meiner Meinung nach auf diesem Album noch mehr dem Gesang von BRENDAN PERRY annähert. Nach dem zwischenstückartigen, auf verhallten Pianoklängen basierenden "Sigh Of Relief" werden bei "Invisible Motions", aufgrund der Melodik eines der besten Stücke des Albums, zum ersten Mal die weiblichen Sängerinnen im wechselseitigen Gesang in Szene gesetzt. Das zunächst wuchtige Stück bricht gegen Ende abrupt ab, um in düsteren Klangflächen auszulaufen. Nach "Outside Your World" bewegt man sich klanglich mit dem treibenderen Instrumental "Parisal" ganz klar in Richtung Orient, bevor bei dem erhebenden "Autumnal" wieder die ruhige, sakrale Stimmung Einzug hält. "Out Of The Gray Ashes" ist ein Stück, welches mich positiv an "We Rise Above" oder "Icons" von der "Inner Pale Sun" erinnert. Akustische Gitarren prägen das Klangbild. PETER BJÄRGÖ singt düstere Verse und über allem schwebt akzentuiert der weibliche Gesang, der die melancholische Stimmung beeindruckend herausarbeitet. Auch "Lost In Time" weiß mit seiner Dichte und Melodik ohne Frage zu überzeugen, bevor nach "In Rembrance", dem musikalischen Zwilling von "Sigh Of Relief", die Platte mit dem Epilog "Circumspection" endet.
Insgesamt haben ARCANA mit "Raspail" eine recht gute, atmosphärische Platte hinbekommen, obwohl ich zugeben muss, dass für mich persönlich das wuchtigere "The Last Embrace"-Album nicht zu schlagen ist. Die Vergleiche zu DEAD CAN DANCE drängen sich natürlich auf, allerdings bewahren sich ARCANA jederzeit ihre eigene Note, was vor allem beim weiblichen Gesang deutlich wird. Nach dem aus meiner Sicht nicht ganz so gelungenen "Le Serpent Rouge"-Album, das aber auf "Raspail" seine klanglichen, und vor allem rhythmischen Spuren hinterlassen hat, gelangt man aber in jedem Fall wieder zu alter Stärke.
Der Medienkonverter
http://www.der-medienkonverter.de/kritik.php4?id=2709
Es gibt Alben, die einen, einmal gehört, so schnell nicht wieder loslassen. Ein bestimmtes Gefühl oder eine bestimmte Melodie sind es, die einen tagelang begleiten. Einmal in diesen Bann gezogen, wird das Album zu einem Wegbegleiter, der, je nach Musik, immer oder in ganz bestimmten Situationen Balsam oder Stimulans ist. Arcanas neues Album "Raspail" ist genau solch ein Album. Zwar haben das auch schon frühere Alben von Arcana geschafft, aber es gibt zwei Gründe, warum dies auf "Raspail" im besonderen Maße zutrifft. Arcanas erste Alben "Dark Age Of Reason" und "Cantar De Procella" waren sehr dunkle Seelenschauen, die aber vor allem unter ganz bestimmten Umständen ihre Stärke entfalten konnten. Neuere Werke wie "Inner Pale Sun" waren dagegen leichtfüßiger, vermochten aber nicht mehr so bedingungslos zu fesseln.
"Raspail" spannt einen Bogen zwischen diesen beiden Ausprägungen und verharrt in einer Art Schwebezustand. Nie wirklich so depressiv wie die tiefsten Abgründe der Seele und gerade so leuchtend genug, dass man den Pfad zum Abgrund noch erkennen kann. Das Album ist wie ein Messer, das Arcana bis zum Schaft in das Herz des Hörers rammen und dort stecken lassen. Der zweite Grund, der dieses Album von anderen Arcana-Werken unterscheidet, ist das Mehr an Text und damit Gesang. Natürlich finden sich auch auf "Raspail" wunderschöne, melancholische Instrumentalstücke, aber der Gesang von Ann-Mari Thim und vor allem Peter Bjärgö verleiht den Songs noch mehr Tiefe und Lebendigkeit.
Das fällt beim ersten Song "Abrakt" sofort auf, genauso wie die besondere Percussion. Spätestens bei "Invisible Motions" wird auch klar, an wen Rhythmus und Instrumentierung erinnern, nämlich Dead Can Dance zu Zeiten von "Toward The Within". Diese ansteckende Rhythmik ist ein ausgezeichneter Konterpart zu den getragenen Melodien. Ein Gefühl, das sich durch das gesamte Album zieht. Emotional immer im freien Fall und stets wieder aufgefangen von Pauke, Shékere oder Cabasa. "Raspail" strahlt eine idyllische und romantische Schönheit aus. Was für ein Album!
Gothtronic
http://www.gothtronic.com/?page=23&reviews=4648
The new album of the one and only real descendants of Dead Can Dance is out now. This new Arcana album is released by the German label Kalinkaland records and musically is yet a bit different again compared to the previous recording Le Serpent Rouge. The Arabic and Oriental spheres mostly have been replaced again by the majestic neo-classical sound, closer to the sound we know from previous Arcana recordings such as The Last Embrace and Inner Pale Sun. So, it is not a coincidence that songs like ‘Outside Your World’, ‘Autumnal’ and ‘Lost in Time’ remind of those albums. Yet you’ll still perfectly recognise the Egyptian atmospheres in ‘Parisal’. Also the medieval sound we know from Dark Age of Reason is back, as is illustrated with ‘Sigh of Relief’, ‘Out of the Gray Ashes’ and ‘Circumspection’. One could argue that the various phases and aspects of the beautiful dark Arcana sound are processed in the ten tracks on this new Raspail album. A step forward has also been made with the darkwave influenced ‘Invisible Motions’ and the noticeable big attention that has been devoted to the various vocals on this recording, ranging from baritone to soprano. All in all this again results in a very beautiful and this time also very varied Arcana album, which takes the listener on a trip towards the ancient past and to exotic places filled with mysteries, whilst the only aspect of criticism could be that Raspail is a bit of a short album clocking in at only 38 minutes.
Hardwired
http://www.hard-wired.org.uk/Goth.htm
Heralds of angels mark the arrival of "Abrakt". Moody synths swell. Peter Bjärgö channels the presence of Brendan Perry, while spooky monks go 'ahh' in the background. This is Arcana at their atmospheric best, taking inspiration from Dead Can Dance's finest moment Within The Realm Of A Dying Sun. I've grown out of trying to convert everyone I meet to like the same music as I do, but sometimes I waver when it comes to Arcana. The last time I tried this, work colleagues dismissed their sound as 'too spooky' and 'the sort of thing you would play if you were holding a satanic ceremony'. What they failed to understand is that these sound like recommendations to me. "Abrakt" is the 'traditional' Arcana sound, perhaps to reassure fans who were confused by the experimentation of the band's last album "Le Serpent Rouge".
"Sigh of Relief" is a fragment of piano-led ambience. It's reminiscent of the more tuneful offerings from Arcana's old label Cold Meat Industry. It offers a respite from the giant artifices of noise on offer elsewhere, creating a sense of unease in the listener. It doesn't go anywhere, but with its brevity it doesn't need to. "Invisible Motions" sounds as big as the opening scene of Star Wars, when the Imperial Star Destroyer overtakes Princess Leia's much smaller ship. This time the female vocals take centre stage. Real words are used, rather than Gerrard-esque transcendent wailing. Arcana conjure dark images. This song alone mentions nothingness, anger, pain, wrath, loneliness, anxiousness and anger, yet there is beauty in the darkness. As I look out of my window into a grey, cloud-filled, winter sky this music makes the scene resplendent. "Outside Your World" sees a slower pace. Bjärgö's vocals return. His singing starts low in the mix, but this gives them room to soar later. This song has a dismal – but in a good way – atmosphere. Try listening to this song as you get ready in the morning, Arcana could make the opening of your fridge seem ominous.
"Parisal" explores the side of Arcana that seeks to make medieval music, or perhaps music based on the romantic images we have of the Middle Ages. Hearing traditional instruments, such as hammered dulcimer, adds another set of colours to the band's palette. This sort of music has never been my favourite side of the band, but by offering us a respite to the following darkness – in the form of "Autumnal" – it seems to become darker. Too much shade can blind the listener, so it's great that Arcana know how to pace themselves – and the listener. "Autumnal" features a mix of piano, synths and whispered female vocals for the first few minutes. Then as the song develops the higher-pitched female singing is introduced. This track is full of unrelieved tension. The sounds struggle for a release that comes only in the form of drums that sound like gunshots in the distance. This song has the mood of Fields of the Nephilim's "Requiem XIII-33 (Le Veilleur Silencieux)".
Guitars are usually few and far between in Arcana's music, so "Out of the Gray Ashes" makes a nice change, with its construction around just such an instrument. Otherwise the usual Arcana ingredients are present and correct. Though on the surface this seems to express a gloomy time when 'the last bomb has been dropped', there is some form of hope in that 'a seed will grow'. This sentiment expresses an interest in the environment, also demonstrated in the lyrics to "Abrakt". The deep male vocals and the high female vocals interweave magically. "Lost In Time" is a highlight of the album. If Arcana were a band that dealt in such things then this would be the single. It has already appeared on Kalinkaland compilation Lightwave II, which is why it sounds so familiar to me. There's a grandeur and sense of scale to this song. The song is in no hurry to get anywhere, but the hypnotic swirling synth sounds will stay in your head when the song has finished. Ethnic instruments clatter over the top making this song a beguiling mix of old and new.
"In Remembrance" is another piano-led slice of ambience, similar to "Sigh of Relief". It is also the cousin of "Reminiscence" from Arcana's The New Light album, albeit without the sound of the waves. "Circumspection" brings the album to a close. I was expecting a big finale, but it seems that "Lost In Time" was the explosion, the two songs that follow it are the aftermath. Wailing female vocals, blending with echoing chimes over the synth background we know so well. More of a whimper, than a bang perhaps, but a gentle way for the listener to return to the real world.
Wave of Darkness
http://www.wave-of-darkness.com/Community/html/modules.php?name=Reviews&rop=showcontent&id=157
Aus dem Schlaf gerissen, um das Atmen nicht zu vergessen, glaubte man fast an die ausgebleicht Existenz von ARCANA, klang doch ihr letztes Fulltime-Echo schonungslos nach Abschied und Adieu. Doch der erneute musikalische Atemzug wurde getan und das Label "Kalinkaland" hauchte der Band neue Zuversicht und Möglichkeiten ein. Mit "Raspail" erschuf man einen weiteren Raum weltfremder Inspirationen und blieb doch stilprägend und eines DER elementarsten Aushängeschilder neoklassizistischer Klänge. ARCANA bereiten uns den melancholischen Winter, den der liebe Herr Gott in diesem Jahr wieder einmal verpatzt hat. Auf ein neues verzaubert ihre Musik alles und jeden, versprüht die zierliche Anmutung einzigartiger und kraftvoller Hingabe. Ein Blizzard aus bombastischen Musikepochen, der nur für uns zu schmelzen beginnt. ARCANA schlagen das nächste Kapitel ihrer einzigartigen Karriere auf und fügen die filigrane Romantik ihrer früheren Werke ("Cantar De Porcella", "The Last Embrace" oder gar das beachtliche Werk "Inner Pale Sun") mit außergewöhnlichen und zeitgemäßen Elementen zusammen. "Raspail" besticht durch die eigenwillige Verschmelzung aus orchestralen, mächtigen Soundcollagen, natürlich instrumentierten Arrangements und den hypnotischen Stimmen von Peter Bjärgö und der Sopranistin Ann-Mari Thim. Die Konsequenz: Ein mystischen Klangzauber...und die Gewissheit ein Teil von etwas ganz Großen zu sein, dass alles bisherige ins Abseits des Scheinwerfers drängt. Die inzwischen sechste Veröffentlichung des schwedische Quintetts ist ein magisch, geniales Glanzstück, getragen von zarten Klavierpassagen und intensiven Klangwelten aus Bläsern und Streichern. Klassisch, melodramatisch und einfach nur prächtig...
Obscure
http://www.obskure.com/fr/kro_model.php?n_kro=5352
Fébriles.
Sacrément même, étaient les fans de l'indispensable Arcana, restés sans nouvelles de leur projet fétiche depuis un "Serpent Rouge" contesté pour ses trop grandes tentations ethniques et tribales. Le nouveau visage d'Arcana adoptait les traits d'une musique certes sombre et mystique, mais trop éloignée des séductions médiévales et gothiques des chefs d'oeuvres "Inner Pale Sun" ou "Dark Age Of Reason".
L'Arcana de ces périodes fastes avait l'avantage de proposer quelque chose de merveilleusement évocateur sur le plan visuel, et l'esprit pouvait se laisser emporter dès les premières notes dans des paysages médiévaux intenses et fouillés, gages de la qualité de plus digne héritier possible de Dead Can Dance. Pas négligeable.
Le suédois est de retour, 6 ans après l'oeuvre ethnique ; "Raspail" se veut être une synthèse de toutes les périodes d'Arcana. Du médiéval à l'ambient angoissant et néoclassique, du dark atmosphérique à l'ethnique, ajoutons quelques touches celtiques ("Parisal"), le projet revient sur le devant de la scène de la plus belle des manières.
Parce qu'il est inspiré et qu'il sait comment s'y prendre, parce qu'il domine son univers et parvient à l'exploiter avec finesse, passion et sens de la retenue systématiquement, Arcana ne pouvait que réussir "Rapsail". Contours peaufinés, parfum d'un album sur le fil de la logique artistique, paysages toujours aussi somptueux...voilà qui fera le bonheur de tous les inconditionnels de ce projet incontournable de la scène ambient gothique. Se perdre dans les profondeurs des textures atmosphériques, les saveurs des percussions tribales de "Lost In Time" (aux belles et discrètes incursions d'un chant de muse) et "Abrakt", le tenue froide et raffinée quasiment Dark-Folk d' "Out Of The Gray Ashes", devient un véritable plaisir ; notion fondamentale certainement pas mise au placard dans ce beau "Raspail" qui reviste le passé d'Arcana, en précise davantage encore les traits et offre, à l'oeuvre générale de Peter Bjärgö, un pilier. Plus qu'une friandise de nappes de claviers, bel et bien un voyage dans un monde personnel dont on reconnaîtrait entre mille les étincelles acoustiques, les lignes vocales, les effluves mélodiques, l'inexplicable mais omniprésent souffle mystérieux. Un univers de beauté et de mélancolie (l'incroyable "Sigh Of Relief"), d'étrangeté et de magie.
Ce qui fait, en tout et pour tout, que "Raspail" convainc allègrement et devrait normalement trouver sa place dans les wish-lists de tous les amateurs de sombres féeries et songeries délicates. Superbe.
Kogaionon
http://www.kogaionon.com/english/archives_english/archives_reviews_english/kogaionon_archives_reviews_english_Arcana-Raspail.html
After four years of waiting, ARCANA now release their first album with the German label, their seventh though if I'm not counting the MCD's. Rather lyrical and saturated in Atmospheric-Ambient sequences, "Raspail" transcends you towards another realm, unknown, purely imaginative, full of melancholic romanticism - overwhelming and depressing from time to time, with all kinds of percussions, multiple choirs, soul uplifting feminine voices, mighty masculine ones, plus a superb acoustic guitar heard now and then ("Out Of The Grey Ashes"), a complete orchestra... there seem to be tens of instruments... hundreds evenly... sorry if I'm bringing DEAD CAN DANCE in the comparison again, but the sound resembles theirs strikingly ... Peter's voice is mature and has an unique beauty, penetrating everything around, while the arsenal of sonorous elements is much, much more diverse than it ever has been before (Mattias's implication is clearly felt).
Obviously, this is the most complex album in their history, yet not the most expressive one too. On certain sequences ARCANA's scents are pale and fade, so that you need to be very careful to spot the whispers too. If you listen to it solely once, these parts become fade... yet, if listening to the album alone, in solitude, in a quality sounded room, or in you're headphones, on a pretty high volume, you'll certainly turn fascinated by RASPAIL! I love this album! And "Lost In Time" is sublime, full of atmospheric nobleness! "Invisible Motions" is dynamic too, while "Parisal" scents of Oriental cultures, tribal even. The ten tracks are somehow transient to me, but on the other hand I realize that if their number would have been 20, I would have sensed the same... because I cannot count the time while I'm listening to this album. The booklet potentates the dreamy universe, and imagery perfectly resonates with ARCANA.
A truly beautiful CD, even though some of you might have been waiting for this album to be more imposing. NO, the Swedes continue on transmitting their present states of mind and soul on every of their albums, and their current mood, is apparently more fragile and introverted... magnificent though! Melancholic, Medieval, Modern Classical, Ambient, Acoustic... meaning ARCANA.
Ikonenmagazine
http://www.ikonenmagazin.de/rezension/Arcana.htm
Um diesen Einstieg nicht zu einem nostalgischen Gejammer verkommen zu lassen, sei gleich gesagt: Es gibt ihn noch, den 'klassischen Gothic'. Und Arcana sind heute sein vollkommenstes und faszinierendstes Gesicht. Bekannt wurde die schweische Band als Musik, die jene shwerzliche Lücke, die Dead Can Dance mit ihrer Auflösung hinterlassen hatten. Dabei zeichnet die Musik von Arcana gerade nicht jene Gradlinigkeit aus, die man vom Gothic-Rock kennt, sondern einer stilistische Vielfalt, die wenige Bands heute zustande bringen. Jedes Stück ihrer aktuellen CD "Raspail", die nach Cold Meat Industry und Cyclic Law nun erstmals auf dem deutschen Label Kalinkaland erscheint, entfaltet eine eigene Qualität.
Arcana warten mit einer enormen Palette an akustischen und elektronischen Instrumenten auf, setzen dumpfe Drums, Akustikgitarre, Djembe, sowie die bekannte sonore Männerstimme als Kontrapunkt zum sakralen Frauengesang ein. Während die ersten 4 Stücke noch die gewohnte Mischung bieten, wird das Album zusehends differenzierter und minimalistischer. So kommen nach eingängigen Harmonien auch atmosphärische Strukturen zum tragen, um schließlich in rhythmisch-rituelle Teile zu münden, wie man sie von der meisterlichen "Le Serpent rouge"-CD kennt. Großartig: Track 5 "Parisal".
Arcana bleiben phänomenal - eine groß angelegte Gothic-Opera voller Sehnsucht, Leidenschaft und Mythos. Und "Raspail" ist ein würdiger Nachfolger für ihr erfolgreiches Album "Inner Pale Sun".
