Dangerdog Music Reviews :: © 1999 - 2024 Craig S Hartranft :: All Rights Reserved
No part of this this website, including design and music reviews,
may be reproduced in any form or by any means without
the prior written permission of the publisher.
- New Music Reviews
- |
- Archives
- |
- News
- |
- Submissions
- |
- About
- |
- |
New Music Reviews, Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, Progressive Rock, Progressive Metal, AOR, Alternative Rock, Alternative Metal
Recent Reviews
November 2024
- Voodoo Circle: Hail To The King
- Lionville: Supernatural
- Starchaser: Into The Great Unkown
- Empires Of Eden: Guardians Of Time
- Lonerider: Down In The Dust
- Seventh Crystal: Entity
- Neal Morse & The Resonance: No Hill For A Climber
- Beardfish: Songs For Beating Hearts
- Impellitteri: War Machine
- Brothers Of Metal: Fimbulvinter
October 2024
- Casandra's Crossing: Garden Of Earthly Delights
- DGM: Endless
- Daytona: Garder la Flamme
- Fate: Reconnect 'N Ignite
- Frost*: Life In The Wires
- Aries Descendant: From The Ashes Of Deceit
- Fans Of The Dark: Video
- Radioactive: Reset
- House Of Lords: Full Tilt Overdrive
- Cleanbreak: We Are The Fire
September 2024
- Sinner's Blood: Dark Horizons
- Serious Black: Rise Of Akhenaton
- Eclipse: Megalomanium II
- SteelCity: Reverence
- Hydra: ReHydrated
- Heartwind: III
- Gabrielle De Val and the Dragonlords: Tiger
- Find Me: Nightbound
- The Nail: The Nail
- Timeless Fairytale: A Story To Tell
- Stryper: When We Were Kings
- Phil Mogg: Moggs Motel
- Pure Reason Revolution: Coming Up To Consciousness
- Jordan Rudess: Permission To Fly
August 2024
- Siege Perilous: Creation's Call EP
- Paralydium: Universe Calls
- Mike Tramp: Songs Of White Lion Vol. II
- Bite The Bullet: Looking For Paradise
- All For Metal: Gods Of Metal (Year Of The Dragon)
- Hammerfall: Avenge The Fallen
- Jim Peterik & World Stage: Roots & Shoots Vol. 2
Akin: The Way Things End
Akin: The Way Things End
Progressive Rock
4.0/5.0
ProgRock Records
Website
Facebook
MySpace
by Craig Hartranft, 11.14.2011
It's been sometime since we've heard from France's Akin; The Way Things End is their first album since 2003. Yet, they've returned in grand style, melding their melodic progressive rock with a string quartet. This component successfully adds both atmosphere and color to many songs.
You'll note this element among Akin's rich prog arrangements from the start. Both The 92nd Flight and Cassandra avail themselves of a symphonic motif and versatile arrangements. Similarly, the varied arrangements, without overbearing complexity, come on the quartet of concluding songs. Notable here is the Eastern intrigue within Miller's End provided by guest musicians. Then there's When and Miracles that strut themselves as nearly pure rock songs. Also, Akin can be a bit quirky like the strange vocal refrain with Enter Spaceman.
Mostly the arrangements offer contrasts of lightness and heaviness. The former often comes with female lead Adeline Gurtner's vocals over minimal and light instrumentation. The latter often comes from the rich, sometimes edgy, guitar solos of Matthieu Baker. Sometimes the vocals lead into this broader crescendo. With the string quartet, rather than synthesizers, providing the symphonic atmosphere, there is also a greater sense of authenticity across this album.
Largely, Akin's The Way Things End is a diverse and entertaining dish of melodic and symphonic progressive rock. Recommended.
Tweet
Note: All Amazon advertising in this review first benefits the artist, then Craig Hartranft also receives a residual. Click, and thanks for your support.
In Short
With texture provided by a string quartet, Akin's The Way Things End provides for a rich and more expansive serving of melodic progressive rock.
Find A Review
Alphabetical Index
New & Notable
eviewing my archives, I was pleased to find that I have had the privilege to review every Lionville since their self-titled debut in 2011. Formed by Stefano Lionetti, a songwriter, singer and guitarist based in ... [ Read More ]