Customer Reviews

Novembrine Waltz

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There are very few albums that I consider to have helped truly shape my music taste, and that I also still consider to be absolute perfection. This is one of them.

Out of my fairly large CD collection (500+ and counting), this is in my top ten, and it has been there for a very long time. Most of those albums probably wouldn't be there if it wasn't for this one. Personally, along with discovering Opeth and Agalloch in 2002, this is one of the albums that helped define the very fabric of my music taste and forever changed how I perceived music. It opened up my ears to an entire hidden realm of bliss, and made me realize I didn't know music could be this good.

Novembre combine the perfect elements of aggression, atmosphere, melody, emotion, and distinctiveness. As far as metal goes, it's actually quite mellow. There are few death growls, maybe one third of them. But both the clean and death vocals are excellent. They both bleed their respective emotions with tremendous power, and Carmello Orlando's voice is brilliant.

This album is probably the midpoint of Novembre's career currently, as far as heaviness and softness goes. I would say Classica and Dreams D'Azur are heavier albums and contain more death vocals, and Materia and The Blue are softer and contain less. This one is sort of the perfect fusion between the two worlds, although Materia is really sneaking up there on my list of favorite albums.

Novembre's lyrics are quite unlikely for a death metal band. They rarely sing about gloom, sorrow, or gore, but rather things like dreams, love, and nature in a very poetic and pleasurable way. This strange juxtaposition with the music makes for some of my favorite lyrics from any artist.

On this album I think Novembre has achieved the most "progressive" sound out of all their albums so far. These songs have so many different sections, ideas, transitions, and feelings, it will never get dull. This album screams to be listened to so much, because there is so much variety. Personally, I think the harder it is to "digest" an album (that is, being able to practically remember it note for note) means the more replay value it will have, and this will potentially take years to digest. These songs have many softer parts, folky parts, and majestic, powerful clean vocals merging with the aggression, relentless riffing, and terrorizing vocals. Each song is a well-crafted work of art, with a surreal melody and top-notch musicianship.

Novembre also has something magical about their sound that I simply cannot describe. When listening to it, I don't just hear guitars, vocals and drums (even though those things are excellently executed). I hear an atmosphere being created around me; a sonic painting manifesting itself, no matter how heavy or soft it is. This is something few bands can pull off, and yet this is how every Novembre album is. Do yourself a favor and leap into the world of these brilliant musicians.

First off: I only found this band by browsing through Amazon, and am sure glad I did! Novembre is top notch prog rock with atmospheric headroom and a warm ambience. The lyrics of "Novembrine Waltz" bleed melancholy and the compositions take you to a special place. The album is a treat to the ears, warms your soul and flat out kind to your wallet. If one is on the fence about picking "Novembrine Waltz", get off of it; the album is worth every penny you pay.