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Curse Of The Seas

    
       
       
       
     
             
Aria are a heavy metal band from Russia, forming in 1985, releasing their debut album the same year. In a career spanning thirty five years, Aria have released thirteen studio albums, seven live albums, numerous compilations and a ten album box set, released in 2015. 'Curse Of The Seas' is the bands thirteenth studio offering and was released in 2018.    
             
So, what can I say about Aria? Dunno really as the bio I received was all in Russian... a language I sadly do not understand...! Suffice to say, this is one of those moments where it is proved that music is indeed, a universal language. The bands new album 'Curse Of The Seas', (thankfully the tracklist is in English), stretches for an incredible seventy five minutes, with eleven songs on offer, the longest, an amazing twelve minutes in length. Aria deliver a brand of heavy metal that sits shoulder to shoulder with bands such as Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and Running Wild. Every song on the album is sung in Russian, yet the music takes over your soul, infecting your senses and results in a cracking listening experience. Blending traditional heavy metal, NWOBHM and European style power metal to incredible effect, Aria launch their new album with the barn storming 'Race For Glory'. Galloping hard, 'Race For Glory' is an exhilarating opener, forcing heads to bang everywhere. At over six minutes in length, 'Varyag' is an epic and atmospheric journey that meanders through the heavy metal genre. Guitars buzz furiously as 'Varyag' stretches its legs and canters on to a conclusion.    
             
After just two songs, Aria have proved why they are still here after three decades... Delivering addictive and infectious heavy metal to get the pulse racing. The heavily Saxon influenced 'Lucifer' is a meaty mid tempo foot stomp, full of bombast and heavy hitting riffage. Dipping their toes into the melodic hard rock genre, Aria show emotion and mellowness with 'Hard To Be God'. With strong hints at the power ballad style, 'Hard To Be God' swaggers on with a rumbling guitar riff. The mellowness continues with 'Let It Be' floating in on the back of a gentle breeze. 'Let It Be' definitely sits in ballad territory and fans all around the world will be swaying from side to side with lighters held aloft, in salute to an emotionally charged stroll. Picking up the tempo and taking on the style of classic NWOBHM, 'Lust Run' is a thundering rampage of traditional heavy metal, buzzing guitars and a catchy (if you know Russian) sing a long able chorus. 'Alive' clocks in at nine minutes in length, with a lengthy crescendo building atmospheric intro, eventually lurching forward into an Iron Maiden style epic of swaggering and varied styles of full on classic sounding heavy metal. The buzzing guitar sound so synonymous with the NWOBHM evolution stands tall and proud as 'Alive' marches on.    
             
With such a lengthy album, my interest has not waned in the slightest, as Aria deliver a varied and intriguing blend of metal and rock, dipping their toes into a number of genres. And that includes the heavy hitting blues rock/pop rock inspired romp 'Kill The Dragon'. The heaviest hitting of any song on offer, the mid tempo fury 'Kill The Dragon' displays is fierce, feisty and will make lesser mortals cower in fear. 'Smoke Without Fire' is a melodic and atmospheric masterpiece, with a menacing undertone as it strides on. Too powerful to be a power ballad, Aria keep the energy level high, the intensity heavy and the riffs buzzing like a chainsaw. With its title reminding me of an Iron Maiden song ('Wasting Love' from their 1992 album 'Fear Of The Dark') Aria deliver 'From Sunset To Sunrise' with just as much gallop and bombast as the British legends. 'From Sunset To Sunrise' is the fastest song on offer and is a cracking "foot on the monitor" style romp, head bangingly infectious and a highlight of the album. It really is hard to believe that the album has now run for almost an hour, with the final song just around the corner. And what a song to end the album. The title song 'Curse Of The Seas' chimes in at over twelve minutes in length and has many Iron Maiden style traits sewn within. It's atmospheric, haunting and chilling, majestic and glorious, melodic and anthemic, and a fucking superb ending to a great album.    
             
Overall, a fantastic journey through melodic heavy metal and hard rock, 'Curse Of The Seas' is an infectious and catchy listen.    
             
             
Review by Iron Mathew Collins    
             
Reviewed for Metal Gods TV    
             
             
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