CoC : Archaean Harmony - Nihility Mundane Soul : Review

Archaean Harmony - _Nihility Mundane Soul_
(Solemn Music, 2000)
by: Pedro Azevedo (6 out of 10)

A re-release of the band's 1999 demo, _Nihility Mundane Soul_ is also the debut MCD of Malta's Archaean Harmony -- one of these days I'll be able to say I've heard metal from every country in Europe. Starting with a short intro somewhat similar to a passage from Emperor's own intro on _Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk_, Archaean Harmony then present half an hour of their blackened form of progressive metal. Technically adventurous in terms of guitar and keyboard work, on _NMS_ Archaean Harmony relied on a drum machine that will in the future be partially or entirely replaced by a human drummer. The band does achieve interesting passages, but alas these generally don't last for long -- experimenting with strange tempos and often drifting off into seemingly unrelated guitar soloing doesn't do the fluidity of their music much good. _Nihility Mundane Soul_ could do with some more direction and consistency, but considering this is a re-recorded demo, Archaean Harmony may well already be on their way to finding such needed qualities to add to their technical skill and will to innovate.

Contact: Archaean Harmony, P.O. Box 8, Zurrieq BPO, Malta

(article published 13/5/2001)