The show ‘Vikings’ has a lot to answer for, I’ll tell you that. The Intro to Arctos‘s “Beyond the Grasp of Mortal Hands” is oars churning water, a crow cawing, rhythmic drums, and some dudes yelling at each other. Why did Odin forsake me with an inability to enjoy Intros? Wait! These guys are from Canada? Well, I wasn’t expecting that.
Arctos play a version of Melodic BM, with some Rock, acoustic guitars, and Symphonic BM elements thrown in for good measure.
To the music and sound of “Beyond…” . I liked the vocals, but the choice of vocal patterns/rhythms were, at times, questionable. One of the guitars seems to be mixed too low. I pulled the phone closer to my face trying to hear it, even though I had headphones in. Yes! Let that tidbit of stupidity sink in for a minute. Lastly, there’s too much peach fuzz on the guitars and it makes picking out the notes that are being played quite a challenge in a few spots.
You can tell these guys have put a lot of work into this but, sadly, there’s nothing particularly remarkable here. There are attempts at emotive sections that just fall flat. The songs are, overall, too long and aren’t interesting enough to maintain the listener’s attention for 7-8 minutes. Because it’s clear there’s effort here, I feel bad about saying all this. So, I’ll end by saying that a review is just one chump’s opinion of your work. Other people will like this. Sadly, I couldn’t dig it.
Rating – 2.5/5
See what you think.
https://arctos-northernsilence.bandcamp.com/album/beyond-the-grasp-of-mortal-hands
The Metal Wanderlust 