Adrana | Foreshadow
Label: Brennus Music
Release Year: 2015
Country: France
Genre: Dark Progressive Metal
Band Members
Anaé – Vocals
Dub – Guitars
Mric – Bass
Max – Drums
Grhyll – Writer
Contact Links
Adrana Official Youtube Channel
When we start talking about female fronted progressive metal acts or metal acts in general the parts of the world that come to mind are the Scandinavian Countries in Northern Europe, with Nightwish , Italy with Lacuna Coil, The Netherlands with Epica and the now defunct After Forever and Belgium with Virus IV. However France has certainly established itself as a mecca for good quality female fronted dark progressive metal with Pnumbera just over a decade ago and now the dark metal opera band Adrana.
Adrana have a new conceptual release for 2015 called Foreshadow. Adrana another proof that women actually taking the lead in heavy metal and progressive music has not been a phase nor trend. Adrana are proof that women can certainly lead in this genre and lifestyle of music that is not about to fade away any time soon. Much like their French predecessor’s Pnumbera, Adrana have a well balanced mix of female operatic vocals blended with male growling death vocals and male clean vocals through the filter of Dark Progressive Metal. Herein is a breakdown of Foreshadow.
A Cursed Shadow opens up with a beautiful chamber style orchestral section. This is combined by a rich acoustic baby grand piano carry the flow in this intro track
Black Blood starts with a symphonic black metal style section. This contains some heavy rhythm work with double drum blast beats in harmony with a heavy bottom on the bass. It is soon quickly followed up by a male death metal vocal. At the :31 mark Anae’s operatic vocal comes into play and she is eloquent with it. About the 1:15 mark the track goes through a series of rapid fire time signatures. Throughout the rest of this track there are sharp multiple time signatures and progressions in harmony with a male clean and death growl and female operatic vocal.
Eleventh Hour rips right into a fast and fierce rapid fire thrash rhythm section with heavy dark crunchy blast beats. The is followed in harmony by a clean nice lead guitar. Soon the vocals kick in and the track takes many very sharp hooks and time signature changes. The vocals are orchestrated in a manner where it sounds like a melodic dialouge between three people. About the 2:15 mark the track takes a very unusual and wicked break into a jazz progression before taking off in the dark heavier signatures. 3:45 mark it takes another break where the female vocal is overdubbed interchanging in and out of different octaves.
Time To Win, Time To Cry begins with a heavy piano before the male clean vocal comes in. About :50 mark Time To Win, Time To Cry ascends with a nice hard rhythm section. At the 1:00 mark there is a slight acoustical section before returning back to the heavier dark prog metal. The double bass drum blast beats are the total backbone all the way through the track. This track takes on a lot of thrash metal elements as well. At the 3:40 mark there is a cool guitar solo.
No More starts out with a sound element like a music box followed by a keyboard solo. At the :40 mark the track explodes. There is definitely a pattern forming on Foreshadow where the tracks start of with subtle soft sections before giving wa to a heavy wall of rhythm sections, time signatures and progressions. At the 3:00 mark there is some nice sharp breaks in and out. The clean male vocal towards the end is more in the vein of a power metal vocal.
Crimson Conspiracy starts with a soft gentle piano in harmony with a great rhythm core. This goes on for about 1:00 mark before the track starts ascending to the dark progressive progressions. Crimson Conspiracy contains a lot of various breaks and sharp hooks in progression scales. About the 2:00 mark it drops to a heavy bottom bass guitar section in harmony with the melodic operatic vocal. This track is very unpredictable as to what progression or hook is coming next due to the sharp transitions.
The Falling Song opens with a gentle piano in harmony with the opera vocal. It has a heavy chamber progression as if it is part and parcel to a stage play opera. The piano serves as the definite backbone here. If there is a ballad on Foreshadow than The Falling Song is it.
Draconian Wind starts out with a blistering heavy distorted rhythm section. This is followed by a brief heavy bass bottom again in harmony with a clean vocal. Draconian Wind definitely takes more neo classical progressive metal elements. About the 2:22 mark the track has a heavily bass induced rhythm section. The keyboards on this one are much more out front than developing a atmospheric progression.
Echoes Of Time serves a a thunderous drum crashing transition before Fight For Revenge.
Fight For Revenge begins with a brutal rhythmic assault on the listening experience. The time progressions are blistering in and out in a ebb and flow manner. Fight For Revenge is heavily laden with epic progressions featuring the entire sum of the instrumental parts where each are very present and accentuated within the track.
Demon’s Run reminds me of Nightwish elements between Century Child to Once. There are several twists and turns in this track. Meanwhile the track maintains a continuity in its complexity. The beauty and beast, male death growl and female operatic are present in the middle of Demon’s Run. About the 2:45 mark it takes on elements much like a symphony orchestra. The keyboard creates a heavy eerie dark portion towards the end.
Foreshadow the title track to the album opens with a symphony orchestral element in harmony with a choir style vocal. At the 1:00 mark the track hammers down and a heavy rhythm section quickly takes the track into another progressive portion. Towards the middle the rhythm section takes on some galloping elements as if Iron Maiden where backed by a symphony. The guitar solos are everywhere on this track. The track switches sharply between the heavy rhythm backbone to the guitar solos. The end goes out with a verse choral section.
You need not to worry Andra’s Foreshadow is not another clone of say Nightwish or Epica. If you really listen Andra have developed their own quality sound. The band focuses more on darker more developed progressive elements and only uses the typical neo classical metal elements seldom. Andra have created a well written masterpiece. I anticipate Andra being on festivals such as Flight Of The Valkeries and Female Metal Voices Festival. A band like Andra will assure the future and validity of dark progressive metal for years to come. I give this a 4/5 score.
