The name Macbeth is best associated with the Willian Shakespeare play
of the same name in which a man would do anything to become king, even
if it meant turning on his closest friends. The Italian band Macbeth
offers no such actual resemblance, but through its music, it tries its
best to combine the emotion found within the play with the gothic style
of metal that too often, is copied by those who don't know how to use
it. The result is a well-created album that will leave you wondering why
more attention hasn't been paid to them.
For first time listeners of the quintet from Italy, it would seem that
Macbeth is nothing more than a Lacuna Coil clone. Howwever, that's not
where the real rewards are when listening to most albums and Macbeth's
Malae Artes is no exception. Not to compare the two bands because they
are different than one might expect, but Malae Artes is an album that
is high on emotion and higher on ability. What makes the album work is
that the two elements work together to form a whole. Neither part is
overwhelming in the sense that there is no overload in either category,
but there is enough to where the listener will hear both in sufficient
amounts. The vocals are kind of uneven, with the male vocals clearly
having the edge over the female vocals, which are standard for the
gothic genre. The male vocals seem to have more of an operatic approach on
some levels, which more than makes up for some of the flaws otherwise
in that department. Musically, the gothic ambience is clearly there,
which could very well be part of the soundtrack to Macbeth the
Shakesperian play.
Even though Malae Artes is a fine album, Macbeth could stand to
improve, but that can also be said about every band in existence. Most people
will probably dismiss Macbeth as nothing more than Lacuna Coil wannabes
with an interesting name. Do this at your own risk because there's
more to hear than what you want to know and what you may not want to know
could be the key to seeing the big picture.
