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Dakrya: Crime Scene

Progressive Rock/Metal

4.5/5.0

Sensory Records
www.dakrya.com
www.myspace.com/dakrya
By Craig Hartranft,  11.14.2010

Calling Dakrya's second release Crime Scene simply progressive rock or metal isn't quite descriptive enough. The seven players from Greece use much more interesting words, avant garde and theatrical, to describe their work. Indeed, Crime Scene might be imagined as Broadway play blended with the circus of the absurd and then put to clever and accessible music.

Even so, pinning down Dakrya's sound and direction can be a task difficult to futile. One recurring theme is the quirky calliope-like circus motif bubbling about this work. It starts with aptly titled The Charlatans. Depending on your perception of Crime Scene this work is either engaging or annoying. Another interesting characteristic is the vocal arrangements, from Thomais and Christina, which teeter from a whisper to an operatic pitch. Fundamentally, excluding the circus motif, the music perhaps is the most accessible feature of Crime Scene. Avant garde yes, but genuinely progressive music. There are immense amounts of rock and metal flavors wrapped up in shifting tempos, often changing rapidly. Scaremongering, The Urban Tribe, and Dramatis Personae have some of Dakrya's most surprising twists. But Dakrya is best when compositional intrigue merges with those unpredictable vocal arrangements and some unexpected ingenuity like adding the saxophone to Camouflage.

With little doubt, Dakrya's Crime Scene is a unique and challenging, but quite entertaining, listening experience. Yet, considering their theatrical and eclectic style, some listeners not up to the challenge, or settled in their chosen genre, may find this work a perplexing venture.

Note: All Amazon advertising in this review first benefits the artist, then Craig Hartranft also receives a residual. Click, and thanks for your support.

With little doubt, Dakrya's Crime Scene is a unique and challenging, but quite entertaining, listening experience.

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