Smooth Comforts False

Thee Orakle comes to assert theirselves as the experimental side of metal in Portugal, alternating between death metal, doom metal and even prog. Watch out, because 'Smooth Comforts False' may drive some people to madness.

"Smooth Comforts False" was recorded between January and February 2011 and we had to wait a whole year to get the album out, but it worth the waiting. If 2011 started with death metallers The Ransack - one of the best portuguese metal bands - releasing "Bloodline", 2012 doesn't stay behind and we see Thee Orakle emerging with their second album entitled "Smooth Comforts False".

This is not just an ordinary band releasing an ordinary album! They've risked and I think they've won, not only because of the improvement, but also because of the guests. But let's not jump it all and let's see the process through parts...

The album opens with such force! "Faraway Embrace" is a track full of energy and when Pedro Silva starts to growl it reminded me of the polish metallers Vesania, because behind him is the Vesania-styled orchrestral soundscape. Micaela Cardoso, Thee Orakle's female perfume, also appears on this song alternating with Pedro Silva on vocals. Unmistakably, with this opening track I understood that Micaela Cardoso is not a simple voice: that girl will balance between rock-styled passages and operatic motions. However, the icing on the cake is Adolfo Luxúria Canibal from the portuguese band Mão Morta; he's a wonderful poet and his voice is deeper than ever. Kudos for this union!

"Psi-Drama" presents a jazzy movement near the end of the song with Ricardo Formoso playing trumpet and being honest I didn't like it at first. I felt this participation didn't combine with the band, but giving a second and third listening I can say this passage may represent chaos and confusion around the so called drama of the song.

Ahead, with the "Evil Dreams" song I found myself fighting in a dilemma, because from one moment to another I didn't know if I was listening to Thee Orakle or to the israeli band Orphaned Land. The answer is simple: Yossi Sassi is the guest of honour on this song, playing bouzouki, a traditional instrument. While listening, I smiled and thought "these guys wrote this song already thinking of Yossi". From the moment when Yossi Sassi appears till the end, this song is doubtless Orphaned Land oriented. And another thing: when Micaela was singing I could imagine if it was Kobi Farhi in her place doing the job. Beautiful!

I'm not doing a song-by-song review, but I must praise the tracks where the guests are, because the job was always done so beautifully. "Winter Threat" features Marco Benevento, from the itallian doomers The Foreshadowing, singing along with Micaela. However, Pedro Silva is not forgotten and he strikes, oh he strikes indeed! Particularly, I dare to say this song would become a nice single for the album.

Do you remember me talking about the jazz side of the album? Ok, the last song, "Rescue Of Mind", has Fábio Almeida playing saxophone and in that way he gives the song a progressive scenery. However, I want to state that Thee Orakle are not the only band doing such things - I can remind you about the also portuguese band Equaleft which have João Martins, from Lost Gorbachevs, playing sax on "Uncover The Masks", a song that comes off the "...The Truth Vnravels" EP. This last song has another intriguing aspect, at least for me: it ends in a Third Reich ambience with an euphoric speech.

With my next statement I don't want to take out the persevarance or creative power of the band, but I truly think that a significant part of sucess is due to the producer Daniel Cardoso. Nowadays, he's very requested to produce bands and even to play with them - we just need to remember that he produced Anneke van Giersbergen and played some shows with Anathema, on keyboards.

"Smooth Comforts False" is a mix, a blend, whatever you want to call it. A mix of several genres. The media gives a big shit to label every band and I start to realise it's not so important after all and it's harder every day. Thee Orakle is death metal, is gothic rock/metal, is doom metal, is even prog. The guitar riffs are wicker than ever, but that dark side is easily traded by smooth passages that, once again, gives the album a prog environment.

In sum, I dare to say they are a band that needs to be where they deserve, and right now they deserve to share the top of the portuguese scene.

Originally written for and posted at Riff Magazine