Published on Jan 16, 2001
I sometimes get the feeling that all European metal is the same
– something which is borne out with each passing disc I get in the
mail which I listen to. Oh, sure, there is the occasional disc
which breaks the mold, and I’d like to think I’m quick to admit
when this is the case.
Kenziner, featuring Finnish guitarist/bassist/keyboardist Jarno
Keskinen, regrettably falls under this category. Their sophomore
release
The Prophecies occasionally has some moments where it feels
like the mold is going to be broken, but in the end the band
becomes another prog-metal import, and the lot is getting full of
those models.
This much can be said about Kenziner – Keskinen, vocalist
Stephen Frederick, keyboardist Mikko Harkin and drummer Brian
Harris: at least they make the disc seem like it’s flying by. Many
such discs feel like a minute is an hour long, but Kenziner tries
their best to keep things fresh for the listener. In that sense, at
least, they succeeded.
The question, of course, is whether or not the music is able to
succeed in its own way. And if
The Prophecies had tried more to strike out on its own
unique path than follow the same one that countless other bands
have tread on, it could have worked. Instead, songs like “Live
Forever,” “Carry On Tomorrow” and “Dimensions” might bring a case
of deja vu onto the listener – that is, you’ll think you’ve heard
this somewhere before.
Yet there is some faint glimmer of hope offered by Kenziner.
“Trail Of Tears” might not be the most natural sounding progression
for a band like Kenziner (they never sound at home with the style),
but it at least shows they were trying to do something out of the
ordinary. That does end up helping the second half of the disc,
where songs like “Eternity,” “Like A Paradise” and the title track
start to show the promise that this band could have.
One other thing that is admirable about this album: it’s not too
often you have a disc recorded on two continents put together to
sound so natural. If I’m reading the liner notes right, the band
didn’t play together on any of these songs. (Then again, maybe they
did like Metallica and recorded rough versions which were used as
guide tracks.)
The Prophecies has a sense that we’re being told the same
future by Kenziner as we’ve been told by other bands in this genre.
But there is a faint glimmer of hope that this band could still
forge their own sound and rise above the rest of the pack. Let’s
hope that happens sooner, rather than later.