From One
Key item features
With a name like Ra -- the Egyptian sun god -- you might expect a band to deliver a pretty hot debut album. Well this one's a total fireball. The brainchild of vocalist/guitarist/songwriter/producer Sahaj Ticotin, Ra is the freshest breath of air to come from the cavernous lungs of metal music in a long, long time. There are plenty of comparisons one could draw -- including metal bands past and present -- but the fact is this is something unique. One might well describe it as nu-metal cut with alt-rock. Progressive metal, if you will.
The disc opens with the song that launched the band into prominence, the hit single "Do You Call My Name." Beginning quietly with some (appropriately) Middle Eastern music -- a motif of the album -- it isn't long before the metal storm comes pummeling in. But as heavy as it gets -- Black Sabbath and Faith No More come to mind -- melody is never forsaken. This too is a characteristic of the entire disc.
"Rectifier" is a soaring, arena rock-type anthem. Hooky, up-tempo pop-metal that takes time out for heavy riff breaks. By contrast, the appropriately titled "Fallen Rock Zone" chugs along like a prehistoric beast hunting for prey. It's an excellent vehicle for Sahaj's striking voice.
But the quartet doesn't just stay in the hard-n-heavy furrow for the full length of the field. "I Believe" is as much ebb and flow as it is crashing waves (and features some nice harmonies), while the gentle acoustic number "Walking and Thinking" is evocative in a Middle Ages, wandering minstrel way. It's structure and sheer beauty resonate long after the song ends and it's this kind of song crafting that illustrates the depth of talent that this band has.
Other standout tracks include the power ballad "On My Side," a song that features a mighty "lift off" of a chorus. The tear-it-up rock-fest "Parole," which would hold its own with Metallica songs of a similar bent. And the somewhat epic closing track "Sky," which rides an astral plane comprised of metal, melody and gilded harmonies, building as it goes and climaxing with a guitar solo that brings out the goose bumps.
From One is, at least to some extent, a landmark disc. A listen or two may well leave you saying, "I've heard the future of heavy metal and its name is Ra."
By Adrian Zupp
Specs
- PerformerRa
- Music genreDance / DJ, Electronica
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With a name like Ra -- the Egyptian sun god -- you might expect a band to deliver a pretty hot debut album. Well this one's a total fireball. The brainchild of vocalist/guitarist/songwriter/producer Sahaj Ticotin, Ra is the freshest breath of air to come from the cavernous lungs of metal music in a long, long time. There are plenty of comparisons one could draw -- including metal bands past and present -- but the fact is this is something unique. One might well describe it as nu-metal cut with alt-rock. Progressive metal, if you will.
The disc opens with the song that launched the band into prominence, the hit single "Do You Call My Name." Beginning quietly with some (appropriately) Middle Eastern music -- a motif of the album -- it isn't long before the metal storm comes pummeling in. But as heavy as it gets -- Black Sabbath and Faith No More come to mind -- melody is never forsaken. This too is a characteristic of the entire disc.
"Rectifier" is a soaring, arena rock-type anthem. Hooky, up-tempo pop-metal that takes time out for heavy riff breaks. By contrast, the appropriately titled "Fallen Rock Zone" chugs along like a prehistoric beast hunting for prey. It's an excellent vehicle for Sahaj's striking voice.
But the quartet doesn't just stay in the hard-n-heavy furrow for the full length of the field. "I Believe" is as much ebb and flow as it is crashing waves (and features some nice harmonies), while the gentle acoustic number "Walking and Thinking" is evocative in a Middle Ages, wandering minstrel way. It's structure and sheer beauty resonate long after the song ends and it's this kind of song crafting that illustrates the depth of talent that this band has.
Other standout tracks include the power ballad "On My Side," a song that features a mighty "lift off" of a chorus. The tear-it-up rock-fest "Parole," which would hold its own with Metallica songs of a similar bent. And the somewhat epic closing track "Sky," which rides an astral plane comprised of metal, melody and gilded harmonies, building as it goes and climaxing with a guitar solo that brings out the goose bumps.
From One is, at least to some extent, a landmark disc. A listen or two may well leave you saying, "I've heard the future of heavy metal and its name is Ra."
By Adrian Zupp
