The Modern Age

France’s Darktribe opens their disc, The Modern Age, with the instrumental Humanizer, which a way an instrumental track should open the disc. With a mix of grooves and solid euro power metal, Red House Of Sorrow opens the disc up. The song has a vibe that reminds me of everything from Stratovarius to Anubis Gate with Jacob Hansen (coincidentally the man who mix and mastered this disc) on vocals. Speedy yet melodic, is a great way to describe Darktribe, but that is not the only two adjectives you could use to describe them. The piano behind the guitar riff of My Last Odyssey will remind you of the first band I had mentioned above. Though the heavier guitar tone and riffs are truly Darktribe’s sound. The Modern Age has one of the best choruses, and vocalist, Anthony Agnello has one hell of a melodic yet powerful voice. A Last Will opens with my favorite intro of any track, while the verses feature a more basic stop and go guitar riff that leads into the very different epic chorus. The dynamics in this song, does Darktribe well in this song.

The brief a cappella intro of No Train To Earth really caught me off guard in a good way. The harmonies well mixed, and also well sung. The rest of the song is speedy power metal song, with piano added for an extra layer. The a cappella’s lyrics make up the vocal lines for the chorus. At just over three minutes is the melancholic Holy Water day, that again confirms the power in Agnello’s vocals. The next two songs Wild Call and Rainwar are the two longest songs at over six minutes plus. Both contain melodic passages that are surrounded by speedy power metal riffing and grooves. The latter has some of the best grooves I have heard in awhile, within this style of euro power metal that really allows Darktribe to set themselves apart. Anthem For A Planet again brings Stratovarius or even early Sonata Arctica to mind. The heavier guitar tone definitely gives the band their own identity yet the comparisons are definitely there. Hugely melodic yet manically fast at times, Anthem Of The Planet has a lot going on, in its four and a half minute plus running time. Darkside of Imagination takes a bit to get going. A dark and ambient intro full of different sounds fills the first thirty some seconds of the song, before the tremolo riff commences. A mix of stop and go, and classic power metal riffing, Darkside Of Imagination could have been the first track on the disc due to it being just as strong of a composition as the songs that came before it.

I had never heard of Darktribe before I received their disc from Scarlet Records, and I am quite impressed, and can’t wait to see the band build upon the very solid, The Modern Age.

THE BAND IS:

Vocals : Anthony Agnello
Guitars : Loïc Manuello
Bass : Bruno Caprani
Drums : Julien Agnello