My musical associations as regards Portugal have been rather limited and referred mainly to one band – MOONSPELL. Thanks to THEE ORAKLE this has already changed and I am sure that many other people for whom Portugal equals with MOONSPELL will sooner or later save the name THEE ORAKLE in their memory.

Formed in the beginning of this century they have so far released one demo, an EP and this full-length album. Not much, yet sufficient enough to consider this band as pretender to the Atmospheric Metal crown this year. It is surprising that a band with such short musical experience and small discography is able to forge an album, which sounds just as if they were playing together for years and “Metaphortime” was their (at least) fifth work.

The CD bids us welcome with funeral atmosphere of the intro including some tranquil guitar strumming accompanied by pretty unrefined riffs, all of which quickly transforms into “All Way Down” that can serve as definition of the group’s style. The gloomy, overwhelming sound burden typical of Doom Metal intersperses here with a sort of catchiness reminding of Goth Metal scene. In practice, it is about a mix of heavy rhythmic riffs as well as melodic and pretty unpredictable, sometimes almost dreamy work from the second guitar (certain solos will surely seem appealing to fans of say AGALLOCH, like the adorable one in “White Linen”). Additionally, the efforts made by the rhythm section are more than decent and satisfy with their solidity and precision. Relatively often the powerful drums plus the male vocals reveal the group’s affinity towards the Death Metal scene. Apart from this also the keyboard section has pretty much to say making the whole thing taste richer by adding some depth and space.

Inside this vivid concoction one can actually come across a lot of uplifting Progressive passages, which somehow reminds me of the Poles of VOTUM or even Dutchmen of KINGFISHER SKY – in this case also because of Mika’s vocals. Talking of which… Vocal duels involving clean female singing and deep brutal groans are nothing extraordinary here and even if this combination seems to be utterly worn-out one might get a feeling that the Portuguese are one of the first bands that used this way of delivering lyrics. Especially the efforts from Mika are worth your attention. Her strong, clean voice as well as her vocal lines are surely among the brightest features on “Metaphortime”, especially in tracks like “Never-Ending Dilemma” or “Alchemy Awake”.

I already indicated THEE ORAKLE deserved a praise for their musical skills and ability to compose quite unusual songs. Well, some warm words should also go to those responsible for the production of this piece. While both the brutal and more tranquil ingredients retain their very own character the whole mix still seems to be very consistent. In other words – warmth and coldness coexist here in a natural and undisturbed relation.

The Portuguese band have surprisingly made a fresh effort by exploiting the already well-known means as regards creating the so called Atmospheric Metal. “Metaphortime” is a record that will easily be appreciated mainly by the listeners who are into Goth/Doom Metal and I guess a lot of them might agree with me that one of the best releases of such kind in 2009 has just seen the light of day.

(Online May 20, 2009)