Its more than a bit of shame that these Brazilian progressive metallers are no more, because their potential was vast. The vocalist sounds somewhere in between Russell Allen, Clay Barton (Suspyre), and the almighty Dio, the instrumentation is solidly in the Dream Theater trad-prog mold with flashes of Brazilian samba and jazz to comprise the stylistic diversity needed for prog, and the technical skill on display is off the charts, particularly on guitars and a drummer who must have four hands. Menahem tended to operate at shredding speeds almost exclusively, with something complicated always happening and turn even their ballad songs into complex firestorms at the end, and while they often still made great music out of these, it all seemed to blend together over a 63-minute running time. Most of the time, they would follow a formula of verses, choruses, a collage of instrumental parts, then jump straight back into the chorus without any warning or transition; as such, I still remember the main riffs, vocal melodies, and choruses, but the instrumental parts are generally interchangeable in my head. What would have lifted Menahem into the big leagues were more maturity and originality, stronger melodic presence, and attention paid to flow and diversity within a song and an album. Also, please, no loudness war; even some Joe Proggers would consider this level of loudness unlistenable! Several songs, mostly the ones that either have more balance or in which the technicality feels appropriate, such as the sorrowful ballad Ocean of Tears or the lump-in-the-throat, apparently true story of a suicide attempt turned conversion called simply Suicidal Trend, are standouts. Angels and Shadows can still be accessed for free online, though the band-provided links are harder to find nowadays.
Posted on: Sat, 02 Nov 2013 18:35:47 +0000
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