MinstreliX - Memoirs
Self Released - MIST-003 - 2007
By Axemaiden
MinstreliX, a self-styled 'dramatic metal' band from Osaka, Japan, derive their band name from two words, minstrel and relics; 'minstrel' to denote the use of narration and storytelling present within their tracks and 'relics' to hint to the fact that they use a lot of traditional, historical folk-songs to inspire their music. Citing influences as varied as Japanese computer game tunes, speed and death metal, classical and jazz music and the aforementioned traditional folk influence, I was certainly extremely intrigued and couldn't wait to check out this release. To be honest, I'm still not sure what to make of it; there are some attributes of the album which are absolute genius, for example, the interludes in songs where they faultlessly manage to combine all of their above influences; for instance, take the track
'The Betrayal', which starts off sounding distinctly
Dream Theater-esque, then is followed by a stunning classical guitar solo in the vein of
Rodrigo y Gabriela which smoothly leads into a jazz interval that wouldn't sound out of place if played by a blind pianist in some smoky American lounge bar. Then examine the next track,
'Entropy', the first section sounds like a fucked-up cross between
Megadeth and
Mr Bungle. This is, I repeat, genius, so what is wrong with the album? Well, despite the fantastic combination of styles at the beginning of each tune, almost every single song eventually ends up sounding like a tired mix of
Dragonforce and
Nightwish. Why? How? I could not say, but definitely check them out, if only to skip to the best bits of each track.
Official MinstreliX Website
Official MinstreliX Myspace
