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Arc of the Aurora - Emergence

Rating

RIYL

Yes
Tool
Pelican
Pink Floyd
Mouth of the Architect

Tracklist

1 Solar Winds Interrupted
2 Wishing Well
3 Fall of the Colossus
4 A'a'
5 Until the Second Coming

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Generally there are four ways an instrumental album can become successful. The first way comes about when the tracks on the album have beautiful structure; songs build and build, creating tension and culminating in an exhilarating crescendo and release. Of course, this method is vastly over-used, but when done accurately, the results are incredibly satisfying. The second comes about when the tracks exude subtlety; the slight variations and subtle nuances in sound and form are a delight to the ears. The third comes about when the album builds a wonderful atmosphere from start to finish. Here the songs on their own are of no significance, but instead meld into one another seamlessly, creating an album that is more than the sum of its parts. The fourth way comes about from incredibly innovative, may it be technical or not, musicianship.

Hailing from Tempe, Arizona, Arc of the Aurora is a predominantly instrumental “progressive rock” band whose monolithic (5 tracks at a near 70 minutes) debut album, Emergence, does not adhere to the aforementioned approaches and unfortunately suffers as a result. The major problem with Emergence is what seems to be an overall lack of focus. The tracks, though they each have a loose structure and some recurring motifs, sound much more like a barrage of riffs and drums than they do tightly bound songs. There’s hardly any employment of tension and release and because the songs don’t build and/or peak, they sound like unfocused jam sessions – constant instrumentation without the tracks ever actually going somewhere. Now, combine that with the fact that the tracks are on average fourteen minutes long and you get songs that are at times indistinguishable and an album that gets you completely lost and restless.

When it comes to subtlety, this album is almost completely void, simply because all songs are a constant onslaught of guitar riffs - there’s no point where a slight deviation in sound becomes memorable because there are no slight deviations in sound.

As for atmosphere, Arc of the Aurora again falls short. I would assume that because the tracks are somewhat indistinguishable the band would try to tie the tracks into one another, but unfortunately that is not the case. It’s obvious that the band’s intended aesthetic was one of whole songs as opposed to coherence, because each song completely comes to a halt and the other begins anew. However the lack of structure in the tracks makes the lack of coherence stick out.

And finally, this album isn’t very innovative and granted it doesn’t need to be. Though this album would be deemed as prog-rock, it’s not very progressive because it isn’t as if these sounds weren’t made before.

Now that I fiendishly picked apart this album, let me at least tell you what is good about it. Though I said the instrumentation is not innovative, that doesn’t mean these guys can’t play, because they damn well can. The instrumentation is easily the most redeeming aspect of this album – the guitar riffs are big and the drums are tight and when they actually employ the aforementioned effects, they hit gold. The subtle deviations of the reverberating guitar at the beginning of “Fall of the Colossus,” which is the best track on the album, is the most memorable part of the whole album. The “buildup” in the second half of “Wishing Well” gives it structure and cohesion and makes it the most solid song on the album.

In the end, if you love metallish guitar riffs with hints of 70s prog and bluesiness, then by all means check out this album. As for Arc of the Aurora, they certainly have the talent to make some excellent music, but they have to tighten up their song writing and realize that not everything needs to be “epic.”

--Armand Babian