Rating:

(Kemado, 2005) Chamber metal? Art rock? Classical metal? Indie rock? Who knows what to call this… Book of Sand is a difficult album on which to get a grip, both because it’s lyricless, and because the sound is so unique, which leads it to be somewhat difficult to enjoy, initially. Tarantula A.D. are a trio of multi-instrumentalists with no vocalist, which is why all the vocals are by guests (including Devendra Banhart, who wordlessly emotes on the final track). This is one of the most pretentious rock records I’ve ever come across - they actually refer to the songs as “pieces” in the liner notes. That may be appropriate, though, given the complexity and vaguely classical structure of the songs and album. Appropriate or not, it’s still off-putting. The concept behind Book of Sand is an interesting, worthwhile idea, but the execution is lacking. None of the pieces songs are exceptionally strong, although the musicianship is solid throughout, and the harder tracks tend to sound a bit samey. Metal fans (or classical fans, for that matter) looking to branch out might enjoy this, it won’t appeal to many others.

1. The Century Trilogy I: Conquest

2. Who Took Berlin (Part I)

3. Who Took Berlin (Part II)

4. Sealake

5. The Century Trilogy II: Empire

6. Prelude To The Fall

7. The Lost Waltz

8. Riverpond

9. Palo Borracho

10. The Century Trilogy III: The Fall

Buy album

– Kevin

This 25-beetsreview was posted on January 24th, 2006. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.