ARKAEA – Years In The Darkness

If you’ve ever wondered what a cross between Fear Factory and Linkin Park might sound like, Arkaea would be the brood. This MetalCore band is made up of two former Fear Factory members (Raymond Herrera, Christian Olde Wolbers) and two current Threat Signal members (Jon Howard, Pat Kavanagh). There isn’t anything to get excited about with Years in the Darkness. This is easily one of the most repetitive releases of the year.

Too many of these songs sound the same, especially when you’ve got an album that’s about an hour long. According to Christian Olde Wolbers, half of the tracks were supposed to be part of the next Fear Factory (FF) album. When you listen to this album, that statement isn’t at all surprising. You couldn’t blame anyone that’s familiar with FF for mistaking them with this group. The only thing that makes this band sound different is the vocals.

Jon Howard sounds unbelievably like Chester Bennington. If Linkin Park ever needs a new vocalist, they needn’t look far, as Jon Howard is a shoe in for the job. He stretches himself farther than his (seeming) idol by incorporating a lot of shrieking into his style, but when he actually sings, there isn’t much else that sets him apart from Bennington. As for the structure of the songs, Arkaea seems to be grasping for the very same heights Fear Factory achieved in the late nineties.

Most of the songs sound like they were designed for FM airwaves. It’s not just Arkaea’s style that makes this the case. Terry Date, known for producing records for Deftones, Limp Bizkit, Pantera, Soundgarden, Slipknot, White Zombie and a whole slew of others, was at the production helm. As such, the sound is really pretty predictable. Not every song sounds like a clone of the others. There’s one exception in the very last track. Once “Away From the Sun” starts playing, it’s as if an entirely different band contributed a track. As compared to the others, this is both a relaxing and solemn tune. It also seems like it was thrown in to show that these guys aren’t totally one dimensional.

Anyone that likes Fear Factory might enjoy Years in the Darkness. Fans of Chester Bennington will like this stuff, too. Otherwise, this is nothing but another crappy MetalCore release.