Band:	Thee Orakle
Album:	Metaphortime
Style:	Progressive death metal, Gothic metal
Release date:	March 2009

01. Knowing Anguish
02. All Way Down
03. Ghost Memories
04. The Great Masterpiece
05. Quimera Metamorphosis
06. Never-Ending Dilemma
07. White Linen
08. Alchemy Awake
09. Unexpectable Conformity
10. Feeling Superior Knowledge

Thee Orakle are a a group from Portugal playing high quality melodic death metal. I was not familiar with them before but now as I have heard their first full-length release Metaphortime, I would like to hear their previous EP and demo as well as wait for their future albums and live concerts. Metaphortime came out this year and I have spent these last weeks mostly focusing on what this release is all about.

The album is a rather solid piece of music and a fine full-length debut. The first track introduces the beautiful melodic ideas the group possesses and does seem very promising indeed. On this album the musical composition lies on a strong basis of death metal with simple and fine melodies. The acoustic approach of the first track leads into the second song where the death metal side bursts out like an avalanche and also introduces the male and female singers whose work is very well done on this release, especially that of Micaela Cardoso whose clear, light and bright voice reminds that of Marcela Bovio but seems slightly stronger and more firm in the context of this album. Pedro Silva also has a good voice. What is very positive about this group is the harmony between the two vocalists and the fact that they are not overshadowing each other in any way as this has happened in female-fronted groups where the female singer only gets a few lines to sing or in groups where the male singer completely disappears behind the female voice. Thus the overall compositional value of this album is high.

There are many outstanding riffs, melodic passages and highlights on this album but a slightly negative thing is that they are somewhat unequally distributed. The first half of the album thus seems a bit monotone and less outstanding whereas the second half of the album is packed with wonderful moments. The highlights of the album start with ?Never-Ending Dilemma" where the ride starts to take most exciting turns and then the wonderful songs come in succession until the end of the album. The use of acoustic elements, keyboards and of course the variations of the voices of the two singers are the great strong points of the group and I really hope they continue to use and develop these qualities. All in all this album is an enjoyable one and I am very glad I have had the chance to listen to it and write about it. I am most sure all those who value melodic death, doom and gothic music will find something nice for themselves by getting to know this group.