Embrace of Disharmony - Humananke

It is I think one of the most interesting yet eruptive up-and-coming bands from Italy. And their debut album released from the My Kingdom Music label, shows that they have a lot of potential and a dosage of the Progressive, Extreme and Symphonic Metal sound that is like a cannonball waiting to attack and Embrace of Disharmony who have formed eight years ago in Rome, have shown they are carrying the flag to let the followers and the genre know that while they have a long way to go, they can take into a different area.

Following in the footsteps of Opeth, Symphony X, Epica, and Amberian Dawn at times, the band considers; Gloria Zanotti on Vocals, Leonardo Barcaroli on Bass/Fretless Bass, Matteo Salvarezza on Guitar and Harsh Vocals, Orchestra Programming, and Emilano Cantiano on Drums/Percussions. And adding to the collaborations; Susanna Coltre on Piano and Keyboards, Paolo Caiti on backing vocals, and Francesco Bianchi on Synths.

And once add guests from members including Orphaned Land, Angra, Symphony X, and Eldritch, you know something amazing is about to happen. Their debut album, Humananke, which they worked on during late 2012 and completed, last year in October, is their volcanic entrance. The usage of the keyboards and distinctive time signature changes gives the band a chance to get the steam engine rolling on seeing which direction they would go into whether it’s a heavier, mellowing, orchestral, or ominous passage tones the band deciding which road they would take.

At times, it is like an epic score for an action film they would do and give it an electrical jolt to give it a huge wake-up call from the people in the audience. The best four highlights from the album are the haunting turned Power Metal charge on Dirge on a Soul Staring at the Stars – offers a heavy bass work, the mourning bell tones, the alarming guitar riffs and solos, haunting keyboard work and the vocals just makes it tell a story and not to mention the militant snare drum work before going into overdrive with the growling voice coming at you to reign terror and guitars carrying the sound of Queen’s Brian May from the earlier days before mellowing down as the lunatic screams in terror to be out of its asylum from hell as the haunting piano closes the piece.

Elsewhere, The Edge of Nowhere, which features Kobi Fahri on Vocals from Orphaned Land and mind blowing bass work from Mike Lepond of Symphony X. It starts off with a dream-like middle-eastern atmosphere before Bianchi goes into his homage to Arjen “Ayreon” Lucassen on the synth solo and the classical boundaries comes swirling in like a jet engine with the violin and percussion setting the catchy tone. The opening 10-minute track, Shards of Apocalypse, begins with the keyboard strings and horn section setting the post-dystopian setting with a Danny Elfman vibe for a Tim Burton film in the late ‘80s as if they had done the score for Batman before getting into the rumbling extreme sound and the beauty and the beast vocalization comes in and then during the last few minutes, they do a reminiscent of the Vision-era from Haken that is uplifting and gothic to survive after the apocalypse.

Then, it’s the killing composition that is like another bullet train going in about 600 miles per hour on The Eternal Champion. Followed by a drum crescendo, a nightmarish keyboard intro, and almost sounding like a duo guitar solo that has at times, the combinations of guitarists Dave Murray and Adrian Smith of Iron Maiden along with K.K. Downing and Glenn Tipton of Judas Priest, it’s a wonderful storytelling on Michael Moorcock’s vision of The Dreaming City and the anti-hero of Elric of Melnibone after slaying his cousin, Cymoril and ending with a snarling vocal and Gloria’s gentle voice and classical guitar and then back into the Extreme metal like a flaming fire going out to explode.

I have listened to the album about three times now and it’s a very good and interesting debut they have unleashed. Now is it an amazing album? No, but they have something up in their hearts and in their minds as what they have brought onto the table. Humananke is a transfixing debut that will hopefully get the band some recognition and word-of-mouth from the Metal community and receive attention. An effective introduction to the world from Embrace of Disharmony.