Dreams d'Azur

Where did this come from? Are my ears deceiving me, or have Novembre found some much needed consistency? One has to wonder whether Novembre’s members are religious or not, since the quality of the performance has exceeded the expectations on this occasions. The band, who’s lyrical themes consist partly of personal struggles, have faced just that - inner issues that have forced the band to consistently release inconsistent material. Juxtaposition that no avid listener wishes to find from the material they’re attempting to review impartially. ‘Dreams D’Azur’ is the fifth attempt by the Italian hybrid act to successfully initiate a style that will consistently reward them with heaps of praise. Unfortunately, up until now, Novembre have walked in the shadows, scarcely drawing their sound into the light where God shines down upon them and gives them the strength to fight their demons who come in the shape of inconsistency and poor performance levels. The cries of the band can be summed up by the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which states;

“Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world, spare us, O Lord!.
Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world, graciously hear us, O Lord!
Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.”

The faults present on previous recordings were something that hung over the aforementioned efforts like sin and throughout the entirety of their records the inferior and insignificance grew larger and larger, consuming the entire sound and leaving the listener feeling high levels of dread at what Novembre might have to offer next. That dread was not short lived as I came to find out the material present on ‘Dreams D’Azur’ consists of re-recorded material from the first record, ‘Wish I Could Dream It Again…’ which is precisely where the poor foundations began. Although I didn’t know that ‘Wish I Could Dream It Again…’ existed until long after having heard this record, when I did get around to listening the debut, I was in a state of perpetual shock. Why? Well, Novembre have hit their stride on this record, they’ve mustered up some kind of miraculous form that would have been unforeseen had this not been heard before the debut. From beginning to end, Novembre were unable to break the shackles which held them firmly in their place of mediocrity and each musician played like they had a crucifix tightly positioned on their backs - also known as “awfully”. Although not all of the songs from the debut have managed to make the transition to this effort, a lot have and the inspiring thing is - Novembre have made it work. They’re meticulous in their game. They piece each section together like a puzzle and the individual aspects of this record fit well together - the iconic drifting bass is the root of the brilliance and it has presented an emotional and clearly observed front for Novembre for years now. The vocals and overall performance of Carmelo is, once again, the highlight of an immense showpiece.

‘The Dream Of The Old Boots’ is a fine example of his talents and how the bass, as well as the other pivotal elements (like the consistently intrusive percussion and the strong willed guitars that are played like they are swords in battle, with each stroke of the majestic chords, the musicians are fighting back against corruption and maintaining their lives in the process), work commandingly well together. This record represents one of the biggest shocks I’ve witnessed in my time of listening to metal. It isn’t perfect, but its damn near close and deserves extra credit simply because Novembre have reinvented themselves, whilst maintaining the old sound and the small number of positives it had. In hindsight, Novembre were probably judged too harshly on previous records, the debut especially. Why? Well, this was always a favourite of mine, despite the fact that, in general, I consider Novembre to be underachieving. The fact that this record has hit the spot so well means that it is deserving of extra praise since the band have struggled due to poor production values, numerous line-up changes and conventional songs which didn’t serve to please the listener like any servant of the music trade should do. Although I don’t necessarily agree with making music to suit your audiences needs, I do expect a degree of empathy from the musicians towards the fan. By this I mean that whilst, yes, the band should construct their own sound in any way that they see fit, but they should consider their target audience carefully before recording what they’ve created. Novembre have been guilty of issuing insignificant material for far too long and whilst I do respect this band because they do have immense talents, I don’t like the way in which they’ve conducted themselves over the years by recording passable, though not terrific, music.

Novembre significantly altered their state of being after this record and, to me, this is a swan song for the bands old style. What makes me see this as being so even more is the fact that a lot of the songs are simply re-recorded from the old days and performed by improved musicians. The song writing has taken a beating in the past, but the material present here is exemplary of the talents that this band does possess. Now that the production has been improved upon, Novembre have no plausible reasons as to why they’re failing miserably to make fans happy. The previous effort, ‘Novembrine Waltz’ was verging on good. The material has drastically changed in order for this occurrence to be possible. The previous effort to that, ‘Classica’, was by no means a classic. The production was better, but the song structures didn’t allow the bass, or the percussion to take full effect. The emotional strains of the musicianship didn’t reflect well against the confined soundscapes that relied far too heavily on nasal vocals and guitar leads that didn’t catch the eye enough. Listening to ‘Classica’ is like looking at black and white photos. Though there is beauty in the black and white contrast, the edge is lost because of the lack of colour and the simple fact that Novembre couldn’t inhabit a sound that made the dull style work. Creativity wasn’t exactly an issue, but it wasn’t a major positive in reflection.

Creativity on this record in present and its in full swing. It moves back and forth like the calming influence of waves. The acoustics and clean vocals are especially emotional and encase a sound that Novembre really know how to showcase - ‘Marea’ is the perfect example of how the Italians have managed to cultivate the best sound for themselves using simplistic methods. The band moves from harsh doom, to atmospheric gothic rock in minutes. Slow acoustics alongside the onomatopoeic influence of the waves, as well as Carmelo’s all powerful vocals, make this an emotional rollercoaster. Something that the previous records crave like vampires crave the blood of untouched virginal women. The best attributes of this record are the simplistic one’s. There is simply more outstanding material on ‘Dreams D’Azur’ than any other Novembre piece before it, though the debut has to be thanked for some of the material present here. One thing that cannot go unnoticed is the fact that Novembre have kept the same line-up for two records in a row, and this line-up actually took part in the recording of the debut. This small factor makes a world of difference because the band have matured together and in that maturity, they have somehow managed to find a togetherness that has seen the work ethic rise and the material better itself by the fact that accomplished musicians are playing it. Although songs like ‘Marea’ highlight the interchangeable style of Novembre well, its songs like the nostalgic ‘The Dream Of The Old Boots’ and mysterious ‘Swim Seagull In The Sky’ that truly stand out. The best yet.