RAINTIME — Flies & Lies (review)

Album · 2007 · Power Metal

3.5/5 · 2011-07-22
Diogenes

Raintime are an up-and-coming melodic death/power metal band. No, they aren’t from anywhere in Scandinavia. Sorry to disappoint you.

As with many bands of this subgenre, Raintime isn’t really “death metal” per se. A more accurate description would be “power-metal-with-harsh-vocals”, but that’s a few words too many for those in charge of these things, so here we are.

The sound on Flies and Lies is very energetic (save for the slower ballad-ish track Finally Me), with upbeat drumming and all sorts of melodies flying around in the mix. The music here is very keyboard-centric, with Andrea Corona often using his instrument as a lead while the guitar duo of Matteo Di Bon and Luca Michael Martina fills out the bottom end with plenty of meaty riffs. The good thing is, these keyboards are not in any way “flowery” or over-the-top, as opposed to how many European metal bands use them. Instead, they lend a great atmosphere, giving the impression of, um…rain falling on your window or sidewalk. Rain time, indeed. Listen to Rolling Chances and you’ll get an idea of what I’m trying to say here. When given their time to shine, the guitars excel too, with more melodic riffs in the verses and just an overall awesome tone. As a result of all those melodies, there are LOTS of times where this album is very catchy and accessible. You can pick from almost any song at random and you’ll be bobbing your head to it for sure. Finally, the rhythm section is pretty tight, with drummer Enrico Fabris providing oodles of energy behind the kit. His bass drum patterns sprint right alongside the keys and guitars, with the occasional oddities thrown in there to keep thing interesting.

Vocalist Claudio Coassin gives a pretty good performance on Flies and Lies, showing improved versatility from the band’s debut Tales of Sadness. What he does isn’t anything spectacular, choosing to “bark” where most other vocalists would growl, but it works here, suiting the music more than a more guttural vocal style would. In the clean vocal department, high notes are not his specialty, but his midrange vocals are extremely enjoyable to listen to. Another plus would be that he took a very active songwriting role in this album (something I’d like to see metal vocalists do more often), which is probably the main reason why his vocals fit the music so well. Definitely commendable.

Flies and Lies would be an excellent album if not for two issues. Number one, and the more obvious, would be the Michael Jackson cover. What’s it doing here? I (somewhat begrudgingly) admit that it’s well done, and a fun idea, but this is something that I’d much rather see the band put on an EP or B-sides collection, or even at the end of the album as a bonus track. Being in the middle of two tracks as it is makes it awkward and out of place. The other issue is that after a few listens, this album seems kind of repetitive. While the songs are written well, most of them are samey in the riffs department, and not many adventures are taken in their structuring. This isn’t a problem if you’re listening to just a couple of tracks, but it takes away from the album as a whole. However, the silver lining is the album length (46 minutes) isn’t too short or too long; the band makes their point in a timely manner.

Despite the repetition that this album runs into in its second half, there are still some standout tracks here. You can’t start and album off much better than Raintime did with this one, as both the title track and Rolling Chances hook you with mesmerizing keyboard work and earnest vocal performances. They are both very lively tracks, getting you that much more interested in what the rest of the album has to offer. Finally Me is a…surprisingly good ballad. Coassin’s vocals steal the spotlight, belting out emotional (not cheesy) lyrics, with the keys adding that little tinge of sadness without overdoing it. And Matrioska is the perfect album closer, leaving you with one more catchy intro, one more melodic verse, and one more great chorus.

In a point that you may or may not (but definitely should) care about, the production on Flies and Lies is fantastic. It’s thick without being muddy, clear without being too loud, and all of the instruments are balanced in a way that contributes to the sound as a whole, instead of each one individually. Bluntly, whoever mixed this did a great job.

While the material on Flies and Lies is a bit monotonous, you should really consider giving it a listen. It’s a fun, vigorous effort that manages to add a speck of originality to what you already love about the power-metal-with-harsh-vocals genre. No umbrella needed!