Band:	User Ne
Album:	Tarantos
Style:	Pagan folk metal
Release date:	February 01, 2003
A review by:	Undercraft

01. Taranto
02. Viola Dobozy
03. Okankene 22
04. Tras el VI Caos
05. Andaluci
06. ... And Ape Ar
07. An Mis Theimous
08. Nivel-Um Cix
09. Pobo de Lenda
10. Main Ört
11. Corcubión
12. Naim, Yhazura, Derval...
13. Al-Minzorth

I think the secret of success is clear in everyone head in this troubled days right? Just be different, do something original and you'll gain the stars, but also is important to maintain at least one foot on earth, don't attempt to fly too high like Icarus or your wings will fall away, and your demise will be inevitable.

Well, someone told User Ne that, and they tried to do something different, mix folkloric elements from their native country -Spain - with Death and Black Metal, throw in some female vocals and some keyboards and there you have it, or they though that.
Does that strange brew of influences really work? Not really, but that doesn't take credit of what the band was trying to do here, the were trying to create something original and unique, and in such endeavor they succeeded.

The bad thing is that they pushed things too forward and created a Folk Metal piece with an extra dose of Avant-gardism, hey, I like it, but it seems that everyone else doesn't, I can understand why, but also I understand why not, some people don't listen music with and open mind and that's fatal.
Anyway, let's go deep into the core of this strange album this Spaniards delivered us.

Nice Flamenco guitar intro "Taranto" sets the mood for the first real track "Viola Dobozy" which starts with a nice zapateado (is like the Spanish tap, to put it in one way), then guitars come in, rough vocals are duet between Death Metal and crazy Black ones, and I say crazy because the Black vox sounds like a intern from some mental institution. The bagpipes in the song might throw you off track, but come on, let's move on.

"Okankene 22" is a small instrumental track featuring Flamenco guitars and a crossing flute, next is "Tras El IV Caos" here we can hear the fantastic voice of Annah, the female soprano of the band, this song is singed both in Spanish and English.
Then the album gets weirder! A lot of more instruments are used like bagpipes, crossing flutes, clarinets and a carrilón, between songs cool instrumental tracks serve to set the "Spanish" mood again. Special mention to "Corcubión" a short yet enchanting song singed in one of the dialects of Spain. The album closes with the 10 minute epic "Al-Minzorth".

One thing is sure, this guys deserve a lot of credit for trying to create something original here, I said before that I didn't love this album, but I like it, it has grown on me, every weird passage, every crazy tempo break, I have become familiar to the crazy sound of Tarantos.

Now this record raises a question, what will the future will have in store for User Ne? I only hope they can polish their sound and create a more comprehensive style, also I wish that they don't stop experimenting with more traditional instruments, and who knows, maybe the next User Ne release will be a very important one in the Metal Community, I know I'll be waiting for it.