AraPacis was formed in 2003 by guitarist Jerry Fielden, with the current lineup stabilizing a few years later. They debuted in 2006 with So Many Leapers, a work best described as light gothic metal/rock, not nearly as grandiose as many bands in the gothic metal camp, as instead there are noticeable nods to 80’s hard rock, giving them an original edge. Shelsey Jarvis’s vocals are clear and confident, arguably not terribly metallic but nonetheless a selling point here (one vague soundalike, and this might be a stretch, might be Heart’s Ann Wilson). The production is thin (particularly where the guitars are concerned), perhaps not surprising given that this is most likely a self-financed effort. This is a band still getting its feet wet, but there’s a lot of promise here, and more power to bands like AraPacis that stray from the fad of the moment.