Gothic Metal

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    Daylight Misery – Promo (2009)

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    While checking our ‘to review’ folder of digital promos sent by bands we happened to stumble upon this little gem that was hiding underneath the piles of albums we get every month. Daylight Misery is a band from Greece that plays a mean combination of Death/Doom Metal with some Gothic Metal influences.

    Highly focused on the guitar work rather than the keyboards, the band creates a very depressive atmosphere (the part we love the most from the genre). When the keyboards are used, they are like the icing on top of an already delicious cake. This 3-song promo is probably one of the best we have received in quite a while and their upcoming release “Depressive Icons” sounds like it will be even better.

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    Nox Aurea – Ascending in Triumph (2010)

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    Playing Gothic Doom Metal, today we have Nox Aurea a brilliant band from Sweden that will give Draconian a run for it’s money. The band’s second full-length “Ascending in Triumph” provides us with 8 melancholic tracks that will surely keep us entertained until the next Draconian album.

    Playing a genre that is not very popular these days, Nox Aurea create the perfect Gothic Doom atmosphere with their low-tuned guitars, majestic keyboards, and brilliantly crafted ‘beauty and the beast’-type vocals. We are huge fans of Gothic Doom Metal and Nox Aurea have catered to every one of our quirky needs since their debut “Via Gnosis”, and will “Ascending in Triumph” the band takes their abilities to a whole new level of greatness.

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    Diabulus In Musica – Secrets (2010)

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    Forming from the ashes of Dragon Lord, today we have Diabulus In Musica and their first full-length: “Secrets”. Hailing from the Basque region of Spain, this newcomer to the Gothic Metal scene has what it takes to surprise the world. The band combines a bombastic Symphonic Gothic Metal foundation with beautiful female vocals that sound as powerful as Simone from Epica or even Floor from ReVamp.

    While the band is not re-inventing the genre in anyway, they are pretty darn good at making great songs. For over 55 minutes the bands brings us some fresh Gothic Metal that like we said is not super original, but at least it sounds different than all the bands we are currently used to.

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    Delain – Lucidity (2010)

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    Four years have passed since this album’s original (and European only) release. During this years Delain, which started as a project of Martijn Westerholt, has gained worldwide acclaim and recognition. Martijn then decided to make this a full-time touring band and has since released “April Rain”, the band’s second full-length album. Going back in time when Delain only consisted as Martijn and Charlotte Wessels as the permanent members, they recorded “Lucidity”, a majestic Gothic Metal masterpiece.

    “Lucidity” features guest appearances from some of the most celebrated musicians in the Gothic Metal scene. We have Marco Hietala (Nightwish, Tarot) on vocals and bass guitar, we also have the appearance of Sharon den Adel (Within Temptation), Liv Kristine (Leaves’ Eyes), and George Oosthoek on growling duties in some of the tracks. As you can expect from this impressive lineup, “Lucidity” is a pretty strong first-release for a band.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Evig Natt – Darkland (2010)

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    After their impressive debut album “I Am Silence” back in 2007 we were left wanting more from Evig Natt, and finally we get “Darkland” this 2010. This Norwegian band debuted combining Black Metal with Gothic/Doom Metal influences in a very unique way, getting them enough attention and acclaim for their first album.

    With “Darkland” the band is back with a sound geared towards our favorite trifecta: Gothic/Doom/Death Metal. We completely love this genre, and we can say we are its harshest critics. With only a handful of bands that we discovered in the last few years that are worthy of carrying the banner of the combination of these three genres, we were pretty cautious when reviewing “Darkland”.

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    The Vision Bleak – Set Sail To Mystery (2010)

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    From the brilliant minds of Markus Stock and Tobias Schönemann we get another mesmerizing release from The Vision Bleak. The band is right back on track, exactly where they left off with “The Wolves Go Hunt Their Prey”. With their bombastic Gothic Metal, this duo has managed to enthrall all fans of the genre with hauntingly brilliant hymns, and they are back with 8 more on “Set Sail To Mystery”.

    As with all their previous albums, we get a first hand look at the bands unique world that is highly influenced by Horror movies and literature. The band has worked over the years in creating a demented universe that only true Horror fans can appreciate, and with their characteristic sound, we also have a perfect soundtrack for it.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Salem - Playing God And Other Short Stories (2010)

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    Hailing from Israel, Salem is a very ‘diverse’ band that plays a combination of Death/Gothic/Doom Metal and it’s pretty good at it….. until now. “Playing God And Other Short Stories” is a very, very weird album that will either get on your nerves after the first three songs or you will totally love it. We are kind of in the middle since we think some songs are good and others are dreadful.

    The first thing you will notice is the mixing on the drums is way high and makes them sound weird, plus the band does use some weird drumming structures on their songs (so we think) making it sound like a drum circle on crack. In other words, we think the percussions are extremely overdone in this release.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Lacrimas Profundere – The Grandiose Nowhere (2010)

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    The ever changing Lacrimas Profundere has finally settled down playing Gothic Rock in the last few albums and now we have “The Grandiose Nowhere”, a very solid release that will surely please fans of the genre. The band has only one remaining original member from its legendary Gothic Doom Metal early days, and the new additions to its lineup have shaped their current sound graciously into Gothic Rock greatness.

    “The Grandiose Nowhere” is a very traditional Gothic Rock album, but what makes it stand out is the atmospheres created by the keyboards. This pushes the band’s sound to be darker than other bands like HIM, Charon,To.Die.For, etc., and makes their music more appealing to the pure Gothic Metal fans.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Voices Of Destiny – From The Ashes (2010)

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    Have you ever wondered how angles or sirens would sing?, if I had to guess it would be pretty darn close to Maike Holzmann, the female vocalist of Voices Of Destiny. I’m a huge fan of Gothic Metal and I’ve heard countless bands but only a few female singers have enchanted me, and Maike is one of them.

    Voices Of Destiny hails from Germany and for such a young band (formed in 2004 and have only released one demo), they kick ass at playing the ‘traditional’ Gothic Metal with the ‘beauty and the beast’ vocal approach. But don’t be fooled, this band is nowhere as formulaic as this statement might sound.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Mortemia – Misere Mortem (2010)

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    Do you remember what was the feeling when you first played “Beyond The Veil” from Tristania?, well this will be almost the same feeling you get when playing “Misere Mortem”. From the mastermind behind both of those albums Mr. Morten Veland we get his self-indulgently named band Mortemia.

    Controlling all aspects behind the album, Morten has managed to release another masterpiece in terms of Gothic Metal. He recorded every single instrument, mixed and produced the album in his own studio, the only thing he could not do is sing the choir parts featured on this album.

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