Review: Matenrou Opera - Eternal Symphony (live-distributed)

I'm going to tell you right now: I am not the biggest fan or listener of Matenrou Opera. I've only been aware of their existence for the last few weeks and although I have not let on that I know them, I have to admit that they aren't growing on me as fast as I thought they would have. I've been meaning to sit down and review Anomie but I haven't given enough attention to all of the tracks to make a wise and informed decision. Listening to this one track would be a lot easier than listening to the entire album and since I reviewed Virgil today and that song was lackluster at best I believe I should take a stab at a band that produces consistently good songs and see if I can turn the mood on this blog around.

01. Eternal Symphony

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There are so many positive things that I want to say about Eternal Symphony but I cannot bring myself to do so because at it's core, there's something about Eternal Symphony that I dislike greatly.

One of my greatest problems with this song is that I do not hear much of the symphony. Maybe I am deaf but it seems hidden in the background for most of the song. It's sunk in worse than the bass. If a band is symphonic metal I expect to hear the first part of that in the music somewhat. I will grant a mention to the piano-backed section but so many non-symphonic bands use a piano in their music these days it's more of a "necessity to diversity" than an actual, thought provoking addition. Another big fault with this track is how it's all put together. It starts with this dark, thrilling harpsichord, electric sounds and guitar intro and then goes into a guitar pattern which does not fit and a verse that completely switches the direction of the track. The chorus builds upon the verse. Between the chorus and the verse, the transition is smooth and I have no complaints there. Between both of those and the beginning and first solo portion there is a feeling of disjointedness and a lack of planning.

The final problem with this track is that it runs for just under five minutes and it wants to be a condensed epic. It tries to incorporate too much in that time frame and moves along at a supersonic speed which does not let any one part stand out. Two solos punctuated by a piano reverie in two minutes is too fast for any track length under seven minutes and in this song it just whizzes right on by without any mention of it's importance. With all the ideas this track has, it needs to be expanded by another minute or two.

Sono's voice sounds great as usual but in this track he is just a superflous addition that serves to highlight the abstract portions of the track. Instead of bringing all the elements together he picks one and leaves the others to...find things to do. There was plenty of thought put into the musical portion but not enough on how it was all supposed to come together and it comes off ultimately unsatisfying.

Perhaps Eternal Symphony is one of those pieces that I need an accompanying visual with in order to appreciate more. As of now, Eternal Symphony ranks at the bottom of Matenrou Opera's works and I would not doubt if the band knew this all along.

Perhaps that is why it was live-distributed...

Score: 50%