SINGLE REVIEW: Arshenic - Dear Remorse

ARSHENIC (Poland)
"Dear Remorse"
(Sliptrick Records)
Release date: May 15th 2019
Genre: Alternative metal, gothic rock, doom metal
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Poland is perhaps not the country in the world that is most recognized in the metal community, with the exception of Decapitated, Behemoth and Vader, just to name a few.

ARSHENIC is located in Gdańsk in northern Poland, and were formed by singer, lyricist and composer Ofilia in 2007. The band released their eponymous debut album in 2009, and during the next three years they continued playing live, including an appearance on Polish TV on the "Must Be The Music" show, where they did a metal cover version of Lady Gaga's "Paparazzi". Five years into its existence the band went on hiatus between 2012-2014, and after a few personell changes they started working on a new music in 2015. The three track EP "Erased" came out the year after. The last addition to their discography was 2017's "Monster" single, which was their way of showing their support to animal welfare activities, and the music video was partially filmed at an animal shelter.

ARSHENIC is inpired by the darker side of the rock scene. Alternative rock/metal, art rock, gothic and melodic rock and metal. Quite the mixture if you start blending all these influences together, right?

Their first album was a bit more straight hard rock/metal oriented, at times with ever so slight hints of punk, as well as being entirely sung in the Polish language. At times there are the more melancholic passages that showed a different side of the band, and over the years the band seems to have developed quite a lot more towards their inspirational references.

ARSHENIC are due with their second full length album "Final Collision" on August 20th, with Sliptrick Records being the supporting label. The single "Dear Remorse" was released as single in mid-May this year, and the video has already reached over 28000 views on YouTube. The link to the video can be found in the details section on top of this review.

So, how does it sound? ARSHENIC anno 2019 has a more melancholic sound and expression than what was the case ten years ago. "Dear Remorse" is more doomy, and I'm hearing a lot of Candlemass during the opening bars. Singer Ofilia has a voice that is very typical to the more modern female fronted bands, and she brings the emotion that for example Amy Lee also does in Evanescence's music.

The song is quite downbeat, but it never lacks the strength, and it has a nice modern touch even though the band manages to deliver music that has a bit of a timeless and epic feel. It's never anywhere close to being technically challenging, but what they bring in terms of atmosphere and dark, melodic melancholy makes ARSHENIC a fine addition to Poland's rock and metal repertoire.

★★★★★★★★☆☆

Ofilia - vocals
Włuczykij - drums
Marek - bass
Vlad - guitar