Band:	Íon
Album:	Madre, Protégenos
Style:	Neofolk
Release date:	2006
A review by:	Jeff

01. Madre, Protégenos
02. O Efeito Do Verão
03. Learpholl
04. Anathema Maranatha
05. Believe
06. Ultreia
07. Goodbye Johnny Dear
08. Fé, Esperanza, Amor
09. Beyond The Morning

Let's talk a bit about something which is not so Metal today. Well, not really Metal but a bit probably since that the main compositor is Mr Duncan Patterson, famous for his participations in Antimatter and of course, Anathema. A bit Metal also because ION is extremely dark not so far away of Doom and Folk Metal music, but well yes "Madre Protegenos" must be classified into the Ethereal / World Music scene. Is it a problem? No, definitely as always our Irish compositor is as his top and I'm sure that all the ones who like this kind of music will find a real interest in this "Madre Protegenos".

Some of you probably know that the talented Ducan Patterson is a really good writer, after all, he wrote songs like "Empty", "Lose Control", the lyrics of "Angelica" or all the "Eternity"? I think that those few examples are just a big proof of his talent and remember too that Duncan wrote songs for Antimatter too? But today, we will talk about his new project, ION, something which is different of his previous work (without being totally opposite however) but nonetheless really interesting.

"Madre Protegenos" (Mother Protect Us) can maybe be classified into the "world music" category but actually we're not so far away of depressive music and then Doom. All the songs of this release are extremely dark and the intimate ambiance that Duncan put into his songs is really disturbing. The folk aspect, in reason of acoustic guitar and percussions, on each songs is really beautiful and at the end you'll have the feeling that you'll listen to some kind of old ballads. Plus it's also a matter of ambiances, the songs are slow and sad right, but you'll be able to find sounds of winds and waves too which give a really poetic aspect to the music of this album? In addition of the exceptional performance of the female vocalists (with an appearance of Marcela Bovio) this music, these ambiance are just beautiful, and if you don't believe me, just try to listen to a song like "Learpholl" or "Beyond The Morning" and you'll understand what I mean.

"Madre Protegenos" is a beautiful album, something touching and full of poesy. It's not a real problem if you like Metal or not, you just have to be a bit open-minded and to like great and classy melancholic melodies. I don't know if ION will release a lot of others albums in the future, but I hope so. "Madre Protegenos" is a nice way to begin a really beautiful story and one more time this is the proof that Duncan Patterson is an exceptional compositor.