In my review of Arcana’s Le Serpent Rouge, I made the claim that they are “the only worthy successor to Dead Can Dance.”  With the release of Raspail, I can safely rest my case.  On Raspail,Arcana moves away from the Middle Eastern rythms and Orientalist melodies that colored Le Serpent Rouge; while spectres of the last album remain—for example, the drums on “Abrakt” draw on a similar tribal spirit—Raspail successfully merges those elements with a return to the sublime neoclassical style of their early work.  The result is easily the best record in Arcana’s discography.  Deep male vocals and angelic female vocals give a potent emotional thrust to the cold, mystical soundscape of exotic instrumentation and washes of dark, yet emotive synth textures.  More lyrical, introspective, and musically whole than previous efforts, Raspail proves that Arcana is not only a worthy successor to Dead Can Dance, but also an able rival.

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