Earthcubed - THE DARK AND THE DIVINE by andrew w. bordoni

Offering a powerful dose of melodic progressive metal filled with the typical elements like the complex rhythmic structure, odd time signatures, and the musicianship that is noteworthy of playing this style. The brainchild of British guitarist/composer Andrew Bordoni, anyone can ask the question, "why aren't these guys signed?" Bordoni has the chops and seems to have the vision in order to make this happen, and here is the proof. One of the focuses' on this recording (besides the guitar work of Bordoni himself) is Kristin Lamb, who offers her vocal chops in more of a rock style, more in relation to Pat Benetar than say an operatic stylist, not to mention her occasional violin playing, which adds another element that brings a more certain technical element, rather than letting a keyboard play the strings. On this release the band is represented well, offering up your typical powerful cuts such as "The Rising" and "Redemption;" the Awake-era Dream Theater-esque ballads like the acoustic "Avalon" and the "sixth track" as well as more dark atmospheric moments found in "Fury;" regardless of there only being six cuts, it does show the diversity, rather than just being another overproduced demo. Production wise, Bordoni has it together, this release in particular layers guitars, while adding plenty of solos and a powerful rhythm section; not to mention the keyboard pads that are used are brought to the back of the mix to make this lean more towards a Metal sound, rather than becoming too symphonic. Overall, it is impressive, again the musicianship and vision is there, so this just might be the embryonic stage of another band to make the rounds on a larger scale here in the future. Rating: 7/10 Hashman - 2/18/

04"

Web magazine www.roughedge.com wrote:

Reviewed by Snidermann

"There is something compelling about a band with a female singer who also plays the violin (and, oh yes, she does both very well). The brainchild of progressive guitarist Andrew W. Bordoni, Earthcubed's "The Dark and the Divine" is an appropriately titled mix of strange yet fascinating, and excellently produced, songs with haunting vocals and strong, complex music. Sometimes, things seem to get a bit too pushy and even a little preachy, or maybe that's just the way it comes across. Regardless, Earthcubed is a very listenable disc, especially for fans of the progressive metal genre and of bands like Evanescence."

Many more reviews can be found on the web and all of them praise

"THE DARK AND THE DIVINE", why? Buy the CD and find out! 

This CD is packaged in a slipcase featuring the fantastic art of Jessica Galbreth. Andrew W. Bordoni, Earthcubed & Eclectica are independent artists with no label support and unfortunately printing and recording CD's isn't free! By buying these CD's you help Andrew and his projects continue on this fantastic musical journey!

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