Gothic Metal

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    Epica – Retrospect (2013)

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    Released as a deluxe hardcover book with 2 DVDs or 2 Blu-rays and 3 CDs, “Retrospect” marks the band’s 10 year anniversary with an amazing performance with more than 70 musicians on stage with the Reményi Ede Chamber Orchestra and the Choir of Miskolc National Theatre. This release features a massive 180+ minutes of material, perfect for any diehard fan of the band.

    Since the first disc, the band takes the stage with a commanding presence led by Simone Simmons and Mark Jansen. The choir arrangements are amazing and all the band’s hits are delivered with perfect execution. With an impressive stage and a fired up crowd since the first minute, this live release perfectly captures the experience of watching Epica live and the incredible intensity of all band members.

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    Leaves’ Eyes – Symphonies of the Night (2013)

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    Marking the band’s tenth year anniversary, today we have Leave’s Eyes latest release “Symphonies of the Night”. As anybody can expect, this 54 minute release is filled with lush atmospheric arrangements, angelic vocals, and a healthy dose of heavy guitars. The band reached far back into their origins and delivers a very effective mixture of elements from all their albums in a very cohesive and epic way. With a central theme about heroines through history, the band is at the top of their game and shows no signs of stalling or being content with their previous achievements.

    The album opens with the haunting “Hell to the Heaves”, a track fueled by Liv’s extraordinary vocals and their contrast with Alexander Krull’s grunts. The music is quite reminiscent of their previous album “Meredead”, but with an edgier and even more aggressive take. The first instant hit comes under the name of “Fading Earth”, a track with very powerful guitar leads and a super catchy chorus section. For those of you that prefer the folkier side of the band circa “Vinland Saga”, “Galswintha” and “Nightshade” will satisfy your cravings.

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    Within Temptation – Paradise (What About Us?) (2013)

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    Being huge fans of the band’s earlier material from their “Enter” and “The Dance” days, we constantly grew apart from their Pop-ish music over the last few years. While they have some great songs here and there, most of their ‘mainstream’ recent music has not impressed us much. Well, with the EP “Paradise (What About Us?)” we are quite surprised that the band returns to some of their earlier foundations (“Mother Earth”) and delivers quite an excellent short release.

    The immediate standout is the EP’s title-track, featuring an amazing duet with none other than Tarja Turunen. In this high-intensity tune the band busts out the heavy distorted guitars and excellent atmospheric arrangements. Both Sharon and Tarja do an excellent job in this track making it quite dramatic and intense. The music is nowhere near as Pop-ish as bands like Amaranthe, making us quite enjoy this song. With the remaining tracks being demo versions, we still stand to see how much they change for the actual album, but for now we will focus on how good they are.

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    Dawn of Tears – Act III: The Dying Eve (2013)

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    With an eerie resemblance to Dark Lunacy and Eluveitie (sans the folk stuff), today we have Dawn of Tears and their excellent release “Act III: The Dying Eve”. Being huge fans of Melodic Death/Gothic Metal, this Spanish band blew us away since the first time we listened to this release. Mixing heavy guitars with tons of melodic/headbanging interludes and some female vocals and keyboards, they manage to deliver super catchy tracks that will have all fans of Dark Lunacy, Eternal Tears of Sorrow, etc. craving for more.

    The album immediately starts on a high note with the high-octane “A Curse Herritage”. This track immediately shows great energy from this promising band. The incursion of female vocals is quite enjoyable, giving the music a completely different dimension. The album’s first single, “Present of Guilt”, is another mega-catchy melody that features an excellent chorus section and brilliant guitar work. With some cool atmospheric components, this song’s vocals reminded us of Eluveitie. Stepping up their game, “Lament of Madeleine” delivers a powerful opening that nicely turns mysterious in a very Eternal Tears of Sorrow way.

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    The Vision Bleak – Witching Hour (2013)

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    Born from the imagination of Schwadorf and Konstanz, this Horror Metal outfit has been terrorizing Metalheads since its conception back in 2000. Presenting their fifth full-length release titled “Witching Hour”, the band has managed to further refine their deranged sound that combines creepy atmospheric elements, powerful guitars, and very diverse vocals. Clocking in around 40 minutes, the eight tracks of this release will put you to the edge of your seat thanks to their inventive ways of creating unique musical journeys.

    Opening with the album title track, the mood is set to a mysterious and dark old-school horror movie tone. The incisive guitars of Schwadorf quickly fill the soundscape on “A Witch Is Born”, a very catchy track that is filled with weird keyboards, crazy vocals, and very solid drumming. The band has a knack for making very catchy songs that are filled with powerful guitars and odd vocal melodies that give the songs that extra creepy vibe. Other times, the atmosphere created by the keyboards (handled by both Schwadorf and Konstanz) is what crawls under your skin, like on the opening of “The Blocksberg Rite”.

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    Unshine – Dark Half Rising (2013)

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    The underrated Unshine finally returns in 2013 with “Dark Half Rising”, the band’s latest full-length release. Featuring a very traditional and polished Gothic Metal sound, this band delivers 11 tracks filled with lush female vocals and excellent melodic arrangements. Always focusing on a commanding guitar-driven sound, this band reminds us of the Gothic Metal wave of the early 90’s when the songs sounded natural and never overburdened with extreme orchestrations.

    The Finnish band opens this album with a very mellow and medieval sounding track titled “Nadja's Wailing About Coming Of The Frost”. After setting the mood with the opener, “The Oath To Wilderness Of Unredeemed Nature” brings the first wave of catchy riffs surrounded by lush keyboards with a very organic and compact feeling to them. Led by Susanna Vesilahti’s vocals, tracks like “Arduinna” and “Spellbinder” are very engaging and feature tons of expertly crafted vocal melodies, reminiscent of early days of After Forever and Amberian Dawn.

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    ReVamp – Wild Card (2013)

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    After a long year of fronting Nighwish, today we have Floor Jansen’s band ReVamp and their sophomore release “Wild Card”. Being the charismatic and unique vocalist she is, Floor manages to make this album very special and quite engaging from beginning to end. Coming back after being sick for a while, inspiration was drawn from this period of her life, thus making this release very emotional and personal.

    Opening with the first part of the trilogy “The Anatomy of a Nervous Breakdown” – “On the Sideline”, ReVamp starts in very high spirits with powerful guitars and the incomparable vocal leads of Floor. There are some growls thrown here and there, giving the song that extra aggressive kick. The trilogy continues with the more modern sounding “Lymbic System”, a track that has some of that Groove Metal vibe mixed with the lush keyboards and well-crafted drums.

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    Deadlock – The Arsonist (2013)

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    The ever evolving Deadlock arrives with their latest offering “The Arsonist”. In this album this German outfit delivers 10 tracks and around 40 minutes of their signature passive-aggressive Melodic Metal filled with the sweet vocals of Sabine Scherer. Adding some Groove elements into their already rich sound, the band sounds as catchy and heavy than ever in this release.

    Opening strong with “The Great Pretender”, we can instantly hear the new Groove influences in the band’s sound. We also get the first glance of the band’s new male vocalist: John Gahlert, their older bass guitarist. Keeping the mixture of harsh screams and female vocals, the band’s vocal approach is quite diverse and entertaining. The band’s catchiness is as always present on the killer “I’m Gone”, featuring one of the best chorus sections of the whole release.

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    Sirenia – Perils of the Deep Blue (2013)

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    Morten Veland and company have returned with a very powerful and engaging Sirenia release under the name of “Perils of the Deep Blue”. In this release we see the band going a bit back in time and bringing back some of the elements that made “Nine Destinies and a Downfall” one of their best releases six years ago. Featuring 11 tracks of majestic Symphonic/Gothic Metal, the band is seriously gunning for Epica’s crown in this genre.

    After the lush and dramatic mood-setting opener “Ducere Me In Lucem”, the band really comes alive with the super catchy “Seven Windows Weep”. In this track we get lush choir arrangements to accompany Ailyn’s hypnotic vocals. With over the top orchestrations, this track and “My Destiny Coming To Pass” really set a very dynamic and overpowering atmosphere. The band also focuses on staying heavy, featuring powerful riffs and aggressive growls.

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    Märchenbilder - Flickering Truth (2013)

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    Featuring a great ensemble of talented musicians, today we have Märchenbilder and their very impressive debut release “Flickering Truth”. Formed by James Slainmann (guitars and keyboards) and Julie Belanger Roy (violin, vocals, and viola), the band has since recruited drummer Yanic Bercier (Gone in April, ex-Quo Vadis) as permanent members before the release of this excellent debut. Playing a very bombastic and symphonic Gothic Metal, this band is ready to make their mark on this very crowded and highly competitive genre.

    Immediately after a very dramatic prelude, the song “Märchenbilder” unleashes the goods with haunting female vocals surrounded by excellent orchestrations and a very dramatic and classical vibe. The use of the violin greatly adds to the overall atmosphere of the music, reminding us of the work of Pete Johansen of Tristania and The Sins of Thy Beloved fame. The band’s versatility is show in engaging tracks like “Tel'aran'rhiod” and “Awaken”, were the band combines dramatic string instruments with plenty of different vocal styles.

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