Recent Reviews

05.21.12

05.14.12

05.07.12

[ More Music Reviews ]


Akin: The Way Things End
Akin The Way Things End album new music review

Akin: The Way Things End

Progressive Rock
4.0/5.0

ProgRock Records
Website Facebook MySpace
by Craig Hartranft,  11.14.2011

It's been sometime since we've heard from France's Akin; The Way Things End is their first album since 2003. Yet, they've returned in grand style, melding their melodic progressive rock with a string quartet. This component successfully adds both atmosphere and color to many songs.

You'll note this element among Akin's rich prog arrangements from the start. Both The 92nd Flight and Cassandra avail themselves of a symphonic motif and versatile arrangements. Similarly, the varied arrangements, without overbearing complexity, come on the quartet of concluding songs. Notable here is the Eastern intrigue within Miller's End provided by guest musicians. Then there's When and Miracles that strut themselves as nearly pure rock songs. Also, Akin can be a bit quirky like the strange vocal refrain with Enter Spaceman.

Mostly the arrangements offer contrasts of lightness and heaviness. The former often comes with female lead Adeline Gurtner's vocals over minimal and light instrumentation. The latter often comes from the rich, sometimes edgy, guitar solos of Matthieu Baker. Sometimes the vocals lead into this broader crescendo. With the string quartet, rather than synthesizers, providing the symphonic atmosphere, there is also a greater sense of authenticity across this album.

Largely, Akin's The Way Things End is a diverse and entertaining dish of melodic and symphonic progressive rock. Recommended.







In Short

With texture provided by a string quartet, Akin's The Way Things End provides for a rich and more expansive serving of melodic progressive rock.

Find A Review

Alphabetical Index

a b c d e f g h i j
k l m n o p q r s t
u v w x y z #
Loading
It's Only Rock n Roll

My childhood was safe and sane. No abuse and no traumas. I was surrounded by a large and loving family who taught me the importance of hard work and a meaningful education.
   Ronnie James Dio

Lyrically I like to use themes that make the listener use his or her imagination, and to give a little of the lessons I've learned in my own life.
   Ronnie James Dio