Melbourne based Myriad Drone released their debut full-length album Arka Morgana in mid-October. The album is comprised of eight impressive instrumental progressive-rock and metal songs which can only be described as brilliant.
Arka Morgana is a solid album and aptly begins with Time Enough At Last. This track sets an impressive standard for the remainder of the album, building beautifully over seven minutes while channelling the opening two tracks of Sigur Ros’s 2005 release Takk…
The next track immediately builds on the carefully constructed height of the previous track. Track two is Vitreous which offers a unique blend of drone, ambient and atmospheric melodies. Though this album is instrumental, vocals are used in this track in a way that utilises the voice of guitarist/vocalist Shamus Maximus, maximising its effect by ensuring it is another instrument contributing to a much greater piece.
The following track is the albums title track, Arka Morgana. This is a diverse song beginning with the speed common to heavy metal music and ending with a fantastic piano piece. The drumming of Frankie Demuru is fast, adaptable and entrancing. The fourth track Please, Stand By… marks a shift in the album. Hitherto, the overall tone and mood of the album felt as though it had been building into a heavy metal album. Yet, there is something fast, angry and final about this fourth track. It is loud and bold but contained.
The fifth and sixth tracks of this album are Atonement and All Roads Lead. These tracks bring the median of this album back to instrumental and ambient post-rock, though not without unnecessary moments of metal magic. The guitar work of both Shamus Maximus and Dominic Lewis is here a feature.
The seventh track Disguidance is the highlight of this album. The longest and most varied track on offer here shows the potential for versatility within Myriad Drone’s songwriting. The delightful base work of Mikey Harland highlights the ease with which this band could if they ever wanted to, experiment with classical jazz.
The eighth and final track on this album is Unrequited. Concluding with true ambient post-rock, the album that was Arka Morgana drifts back into the eternal ether from where it came.
There is an indescribable flow present in this album that very few bands can master, yet Myriad Drone has done so in their debut album. Although a solid album through and through, there is a lot this band can still do and will do in albums to come.
Release Year: 2019
Label: self-released
Category: Album
Country: Australia
Reviewed by Sam Lehmann
