A Warm Glimpse

Getting influenced is one thing and downright copying is another. This band is actually so similar to Opeth that if someone told me this was an unreleased Opeth album I would believe him. Whether it’s the acoustic chords or the melodic leads, the crunchy riffs or the aggressive drumming, the clean vocals or the growls, the song structures or the atmospheric approach, the band is just plain Opeth.

And just when you thought, “Hey, the sound might be unoriginal, I’m sure the music is new, and we all love Opeth, don’t we?” Well, let me correct you there too. “Stretching into Me” between 1:00 and 2:00, except for the leads has almost the same progressions as Black Rose Immortal’s first melodic section.

Of course, this doesn’t mean they’re as good as Opeth. The production isn’t as polished and the clean singing isn’t remotely as good as Akerfeldt’s. The lyrics, oh, how can any band write lyrics half as good as Opeth’s. The slower sections, instead of captivating you, will put you to sleep, example “Pearl of My Suffering” & “Flowgrasp”. Other than that, “Saine” is the shortest and shittiest song on the album.

The reason why I give them fairly decent points is because I totally adore Opeth and being able to construct songs like them certainly isn’t a piece of cake. They also have some Mike Patton/John Zorn thing going on. There are some parts where they opt to sound like a typical jazz or funk band, but then this again leaves a lot of room for improvement, sounds out of place and wannabe-avant-garde, if you know what I mean.

What masturbation is to sex, this band is to Opeth, that’s right, a mere substitute.

Farmakon is a great band that I often hear described as an "Opeth" clone. While I similarties it would be a real shame to assume that. It has a lot in common with Opeth but is on a completely different level at the same time. So what I'm saying is, even if you are sick of Opeth, or never liked them to begin with, this might rekindle your interest in the style.

Bass/vocals are handled by one man, and this guy is insane. He does harsh vocals well. His clean style sounds very unpolished at first, and it might very well be that, but it becomes very unique and fitting. His bass ability is surprisingly very good and has a good tendency to steal the show at the right moments.

Guitar-wise, the riff's range from powerful and crunchy, to fast and polished, to melodic chord progressions. Solo's are in every song , and while not very technical, the do a great job of fitting the music instead of impressing you with blistering speed.

The drumming also seems to know how to compliment the song instead of pushing the limits. Some tricks here and there and even some blast beats but they are used moderately enough to keep focus on the song as a whole.

Having said all that I will give a track by track breakdown as always:

1. Loosely of Amoebas - While not the best song on the album, it's a great opener and probably the best track to hear in to get an idea of their versatility. Filled with time changes and a funkified jazzy breakdown at 1:51, a great chorus, and some other weird parts, it's just a great song. (9/10)

2. My Sanctuary in Solitude - Well, Opeth influence is much more prominent in this song, especially starting about 2:13 in when we see the acoustical breakdown leading up to some good riffing and double-bass parts. A good song but actually one of my least faves on the album. (7/10)

3. Mist - The opening riff is odd, and carries the song quickly into a more focused part of the song. It doesn't last long though, and we end up switching between an acoustical interlude and a meh'ish chorus part that shows off harsh and clean vocals. Then a new harsh part building up to yet another soft interlude. We come back to the opening riff and carry it to the frenzied end of the song. It's short but doesn't stack up to the rest of the album. (7/10)

4. Stretching Into Me - One of two songs to open acoustically. It remains this way and is pretty relaxing until about 2 minutes in, where it explodes into melodic riffs and double bass. The band does a great job of keeping you interested with quite a bit of variety through to the end of the song. Surprisingly good to headbang to, until the happy bit at the end. (9/10)

5. Same - The shortest song is also one of the most furious, and has a great shizo vibe to it. The bassist/vocalist show's off both abilities very well in this song, especially in the great funk/jazz breakdown halfway in, where he explain's how he's the "same" as anyone else, despite his strangeness. Most will have a very hard time buying it though, given the flow of the song and his Mike Patton-esque yells. Very fun song! (10/10)

6. Flowgrasp - It's a solid song but probably my least favorite, for being over 6 minutes some parts just don't pack enough punch or feel for me to love the song. It has some great parts in it but it should've ended at 5:38, instead of dragging it on even longer. (6/10)

7. Flavoured Numerology - This could've just as easily been an opener as LoA, the fast pacing and variety stands out most of all. One of the most memorable parts on the album is the jazz breakdown at 4:05. It has a very Mr. Bungle tone to it and you can't help but laugh at the unexplainable noises made by Eskola throughout it. Great song. (9/10)

8. Pearl of my Suffering - Those turned off by the acoustic opening are missing out on one of the album's best songs. First you'll want to sing along, then mosh, then so much more. Despite the clean singing sounding amateurish(and this applies to the whole album), it's really just an acquired taste that I find to be perfect for the band. At about 4:49 we get a slower heavier riff that is surprisingly satisfying. The song ends with a minute and a half of strange mix of riff's and slap bass and a melodic build-up afterwards. (10/10)

9. Wallgarden - A personal favorite, it's very melodic and addicting. "Don't point the finger at me, from a world I don't want to recognize." is a glaring lyric that subtlely describes the frustrated and angry tone that the song gradually transforms into. Great work from all member's of the band on this one, and we are treated to an outro of a very long anguished scream with a very heavy riff complimenting it. Blast beats are thrown in at times for good measure. (9.5/10)

I would definitely recommend anyone to give this album a try. Being an Opeth fan, while not a rabid one, I can say that at least half of the correlation between the two bands is the fact that both have undescribeable qualities. The other half... well, undescribeable as they may be, they do tend to sound alike most of the time...

Crazy debut by these finish guys, "A Warm Glimpse" begins like any usual melodic death metal record with straight rhythms, melodic guitars and aggressive vocals and I already thought that this is was great but after 1 minute Farmakon prove me wrong and show that they offer even more! They slow down with blasting drums and clean singing and the singer even speaks along to dissonant guitars. But that's not enough they also throw in crazy guitar plays that fit better to a Jazz or Funk!

After the first shock I really like those interludes because after them they suddenly step on the accelerator again and thrash through their songs with razor-sharp guitars, aggressive drums and deep shouted vocals. The first songs ends with atmospherically guitar playing and clean singing that are supported by double bass action.

Their vocalist changes between brutal shouting, harsh screaming and sweetest clean singing and sometimes it's really unbelievable that this is the same person! Beside the real talented singer their guitarist, drummer & bassist are as important. Guitars range from playfull solos to thrashing elements and brutal death metal and the drummer convinces with his complex & unique drum patterns. The bass-player has his big moments during the jazzy tunes where he can show all his potential!

This is a bunch of great musicians that bring up Farmakon's sound to a new level of progressive metal because beside hammering thrash assaults and melodic death metal parts straight from the heart, they turn around and throw in harmonic passages with a jazzy, funky or folk touch.

At the end of "Stretching Into Me" the guitars even sound like Santana! Hard to believe that this sounds good but these guys melt modern brutal metal with progressive elements and it works. Sweet stuff, now LISTEN to IT!!!

These guy remind me of Opeth, they're actually kind of too much like Opeth though. The way songs are structured, the way there's 70's blues rock/psychedllia mixed in, and the way the vocals go from growls to singing, all this cries "Opeth rip-off". If you told me this was some unreleased Opeth album, I might believe you. There are a couple notable differences that doesn't make this a 100% Opeth rip off. The music is faster paced for the heavyier parts, sort of sounds like Slayer, the soft parts though are similar to the acoustic breakdowns Opeth do but in a couple tracks get a little funkier and jazzier than what Opeth would do. Then there's the clean singing which is average, just your typical guy singing, it's not bad, it's just not THAT good. The growls sound identical to Mikael's. There's also some spoken vocals that are pretty annoying, sounds like a guy with his tounge caught in his throat. The whole concept of the band's music revolves around Opeth, just with more attention to thrash for heavy parts and funky blues rock for the breakdowns, the songs are much shorter too so if you hated Opeth for stalling within in their music for the catchy melodies, this might be a good thing. It's a pretty good progressive death metal album, a lot of the Opeth fans could get a kick out of this.