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Arcing Wires – Prime

Arcing Wires – Prime

Arcing Wires - Prime

  • Rating: 7/10
  • Release Date: 06 November, 2020
  • Label: Art As Catharsis
  • Musicians:
    Felix Lalanne - Guitar Yutaro Okuda - Guitar Alex Hirlian - Drums Nish Manjunath - Tenor Sax Nick Henderson - Bass Guest: Steph Russell - Vocals on Catacaustic
  • Favorite songs:
    Blue Steel, Arc9, Eniargim
  • For Fans of:
    Panzerballett, Arch Echo, Polyphia, Nova Collective, Pomegranate Tiger

There are few bands out there who are combining jazz and metal successfully. Add to that small eclectic pool the Sydney five-piece Arcing Wires, who just released their debut full length Prime” on the prolific Australian Art As Catharsis label. They’ve been around for a while and apparently have worked up an impressive live reputation in their home continent down under as well as with appearances in Indonesia and The Netherlands.

Adding a saxophone to the standard rock line-up of two guitars, drums and bass is of course nothing new. German legends of Panzerballett come to mind immediately and the comparison isn’t too far fetched if you listen to the opening triple of the singles ‘The Lizard’, ‘Catacaustic’ and ‘Blue Steel’. However, towards the end of ‘Blue Steel’, the five Aussies seem to free themselves of these all too obvious similarities and find more of a ‘voice’ that is entirely their own,  albeit almost entirely an instrumental one. Guest vocalist Steph Russell deserves a shoutout though, as her contribution to ‘Catacaustic’ indeed adds another layer of awesomeness to the song.

Arcing Wires – Catacaustic (click here if the video doesn’t play)

‘Arc9’ brings down the heaviness and energy to focus on groove and melodies and ‘Eniargim’ introduces some oriental vibes, not entirely unlike the ones on my favorite Panzerballett song, ‘The Mediterranean Breeze’, that I have missed ever since in the music of the Munich based jazz metal inventors. The chops are impressive across the board, as is to be expected from a band starting off with a premise like that.

Arcing Wires – Blue Steel (click here if the video doesn’t play)

Towards the end of the album, some parts here and there seem to get dragged out a bit, but the main themes are still memorable and engaging, as it should be in a fusion setting like this. I am positively sure though, that the improvisational part of jazz infused music will translate these songs excellently into a live setting. Hopefully, they’ll be able to do exactly that again very soon!

With “Prime”, Arcing Wires present a thoroughly enjoyable debut album and a mandatory listen for all lovers of the rare species that is jazz metal.

Arcing Wires

Tracklist:

  1. The Lizard
  2. Catacaustic
  3. Blue Steel
  4. Arc9
  5. Eniargim
  6. Merits
  7. Serotonin
  8. Bobbin Head

About the Author

Dario

Co-Founder of The Progspace - Dario discovered the world of Prog upon hearing "Shine on you crazy diamond" for the first time at the tender age of 12 around the turn of the millennium. Coming from a musical family and brought up with classical music, this seemed to be the logical next step. Attended the school of www.progulus.com from 2002, delving into both directions: catching up with the history of already more than 30 years of progressive music as well as always staying up to date with the newest prog sounds. He loves meeting like-minded people and enjoying live music at a concert somewhere in Europe.

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