Aryem – The Bird’s Assembly

Aryem
The Bird’s Assembly
October 8, 2021
Playing time: 58:14

Mexican symphonic metal band Aryem was founded in 2012 by composer and bassist Diego Heero Maaginen. The current line-up established itself in the years 2018/2019.

Through the explosive combination of a full symphonic orchestrations and the characteristic power of a heavy metal band, Aryem explores the diversity of emotions and avatars owned by human experience, from the spirit’s greatest beauty to the deepest and darkest corners of the soul.

That’s what the press info says. After the debut “Dangerous Paradise”, which was released in 2020, the band is releasing the follow-up “The Bird’s Assembly” one year later. The musicians were inspired by the poem “The Conference of the Birds” by the Persian poet Farid ud-Din Attar, also known as Attar of Nishapur.

Spoken words at the beginning, accompanied by dramatic sounds. The Mexicans go all out with the orchestration of the intro “Hoopoe”. But I don’t like to underline the additional title “Ouverture”. Too little offered for that. But already with “Awakened” the Symphonic Metal fan gets his money’s worth. Especially singer Karen M-Dozza is convincing. Guitars, bass and drums can be heard, but the orchestration clearly dominates. Thickly applied, but not necessarily overdone. And of course bombastic choruses. Also on “You Are Insane” we hear the mix of Power Metal riffs and symphonic orchestral bombast. Karen sings here in a duet with a male vocal partner (Javier Díaz?). Both voices harmonise well with each other. In “Come To Me” the speed is clearly reduced. A great midtempo anthem. This shows the variability of the musicians. One of the highlights of the album. “Forbidden Love” sounds a bit more hectic. The double bass drives forward The singer doesn’t soar to too great heights here for the most part. “My Love” is a minimalist piano ballad and invites you to dream. After some sound experiments, “Surroundead” heats up again. Again, hectic vocals can be heard. The choruses also show a certain dramatic hectic. Again, you can hear the vocals of Javier (?). I read somewhere that he took singing lessons with Floor Jansen. Just One Night” then offers a mixture of straightforward rockers and symphonic music. On the other hand, “Broken Scepters Of War”. Also with a vocal duet. War drums and battle noises. This song in particular seems to fit the album the least in terms of sound. But that’s exactly what makes it great. Contrast is very important on the album, as “Reborn” proves with its driving sound. But Aryem have probably saved the best for last. The album ends with the monumental epic “La Asamblea De Las Aves” (The Assembly of Birds), so to speak the title song. Contrary to what the Spanish title suggests, the lyrics are in English. If you read the booklet, you will see that the song is divided into six sections. A progressive ending.

Actually, the genre of Symphonic Metal has long since passed its zenith. But there are still one or two bands that can set new impulses. Aryem pay homage to the classic style here. But they do bring in some new nuances (“Broken Scepters Of War” or “My Love”). In any case, the songwriting on the album is quite varied. We are not listening to the reincarnation of symphonic metal. Nevertheless, “The Bird’s Assembly” is an album that is far above mediocrity.

Aryem – You Are Insane (Official Music Video): https://youtu.be/ErXaWxw-JtU

Lineup:

Karen M-Dozza – Vocals
Diego Heero Maaginen – Composer, Bass
Javier Díaz – Guitar, Backing Vocals
Luis Arturo Echegollen – Drums

Track list:

• Hoopoe (Ouverture)
• Awakened
• You Are Insane
• Come To Me
• Forbidden Love
• My Love
• Surroundead
• Just One Night
• Broken Scepters Of War
• Reborn
• La Asamblea De Las Aves