Adeia is a bit hit or miss. According to their bands page they are a progressive metal band with classical elements. I would presume that this is largely due to the prominent use of violins and cellos throughout their music.
The dynamics of the music very much remind me of the dynamics that Septic Flesh employed in "Anubis," very grandiose, very interesting to hear in a metal context. With that said, these very same dynamics are a very high risk endeavor for a metal band. While a big sound and dramatic changes in tempo and energy aren't uncommon to your typical metal band, Adeia goes for more classical, opera like dynamics with plenty of crescendo and diminuendo that leads into slower passages with the violin, cello, and if my hearing isn't completely screwed up. piano bits.
Personally, I absolutely love the dynamics and atmosphere that Adeia creates, however, the violin and piano and cello strike an awkward balance between "background noise" and "the focus of the song." According to the bands facebook page, the band was started as an ambitious project by their violinist. I can't help but feel that the violinist is not getting the attention that she deserves in the band. Based on the little content immediately available on the bands facebook page, the violinist gets pushed into the background, taking long breaks and only ever playing harmonies or the occasional melody meant to compliment what the rest of the band is doing with only a handful of solos. The same could be said for the cellist. While the guitarist and the drummer and the vocalist are all perfectly average, I feel that, regardless of how talented the violinist and cellist are (its hard to gauge based on whats available on their facebook page), they deserve to be the focus of the song. Both instruments should be moved up higher in the mix and should have more complex, interesting parts. Seriously, when was the last time you heard a metal band that was based on violin?
As for the vocals, guitar, and drums, I feel that any one of those players have their highs and their lows. The vocalist's growl is pretty good, but his clean vocals are unengaging and a bit unclear. The guitar largely chugs along the songs available on facebook, but it has a few interesting, hard rock reminiscent licks. The drums are a bit far back in the mix, if not a bit bland, but I can't find a whole lot to complain about in that department.
While I am a huge fan of the dynamics offered by Adeia, I feel that that they aren't terribly successful about what they set out to do, that is, create violin based metal, if not even metal that includes violin. Most of the more traditional metal instruments remind me very much of your run of the mill metal band, but the violins and the cello and the keys just scream "potential wasted" when the band doesn't focus heavily enough on the classical instruments. In general, I think that a prog fan would definitely enjoy Adeia, but I just don't think they follow through well enough with their promise of delivering fresh, unprecedented material to find a place in your typical metalheads regular rotation.
6/10
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