ALAS
Absolute Purity

Remember Therion? Yes, them, those who almost two decades ago invaded the market with their debut album, that raw "Of Darkness?", a true death metal product. Well, they have changed, not only as a band but also as musicians, choosing to take different musical paths not only with their main band, but also their side projects have shown other parts of the musical soul of each of the collaborators on this project.

Projects, let's talk about a project, maybe about that of the female voice of the band, Martina Asner who delighted us by softening the Therionian musical parts, making them graceful or even sweet: in 1996 this first-rate lady in the metal world decided, together with a certain Mr. Erik Rutan (known to many, especially death enthusiasts, for being the guitarist of Hate Eternal and Morbid Angel), to create a band of operatic progressive metal, named Alas, which, let’s say it right away, does not shine for originality, although in some rare points it presents interesting moments endowed with the right groove.

After the 1996 demo titled "Engulfed In Grief" and the subsequent split album dated 1997, the band finally reached the milestone of their first album in 2001, releasing "Absolute Purity": the album immediately proves to be, as previously mentioned, very derivative and influenced by various genres, ranging, indeed, from progressive metal veiled in melancholy, reminiscent of some tracks by Pain Of Salvation, to rhythmic and guitar outbursts clearly derived from death.      

The LP flows through all its 44 minutes, divided into 10 episodes, fairly quickly, without leaving much of a mark, being quite boring: thus passing from the introductory "Absolute Purity", rich in gothic influences and characterized by excellent riffs clearly inspired by Swedish death and more atmospheric parts, to more elaborate songs like "Endlessly Searching", straddling doom, power (mainly because of the operatic-style setting, maintained throughout the entire album by Martina), and progressive, which features excellent guitar work, supported by an imaginative rhythm section, presenting various tempo changes and making the track appear more varied.

Also worth mentioning is the closing track, "Longin For Destiny", a piece for solo classical guitar, except for the finale where the classical guitar reappears, with an aftertaste halfway between waltz and classical music, with a breathtaking final result. These are certainly the three tracks most worthy of attention, the rest of this "Absolute Purity" indeed, although always traveling on the same tracks as the aforementioned songs, suffers (even presenting individually enjoyable tracks) from a severe lack of originality, without even a peculiarity allowing the listener to realize they have moved on to the next episode.