Gothic Metal

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    Acelsia – Quietude (2011)

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    Making its way from Norway to our little corner of the world, today we have Acelsia’s latest EP titled “Quietude”. In this four-song EP the band shows their very effective approach to mixing Gothic and Doom Metal influences with some hints of Rock. Lead by the enchanting vocals of Malene Markussen, the band delivers 18 minutes of pure melancholic music that will move you one way or another.

    Opening with powerful riffs on “All these Years”, the band nicely transitions with enchanting female vocals and well constructed Doom-like riffs. While the band’s sound is not fully depressive or as down-tempo as regular Gothic Doom, you can still feel the melancholy behind the hearfelt songs presented in this release. “Happiness Prevails” opens with some weaping guitars and quickly transforms, this skill is probably Acelsia’s most interesting feature since the songs morph from one direction to another very seamlessly and effectively.

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    Sarah Jezebel Diva – The Corruption of Mercy (2011)

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    After the downright horrendous “A Sign of Sublime”, Sarah Jezebel Diva (and company) returns with a redeeming album titled “The Corruption of Mercy”. Featuring 10 tracks of pretty solid Symphonic/Gothic Metal, Sarah delivers a great vocal performance with catchy songs and a considerably better sound than in her first album.

    Opening with “No Paragon of Virtue”, we have very powerful guitar work and hectic drumming paired with nice vocal arrangements and a thick keyboard atmosphere. This song at times sounds like Black Metal song and we totally dig this more aggressive approach to thing from the band. In a more symphonic fashion we have “The World Won’t Hold Your Hand”, a very melodic song that showcases Sarah’s talents very dynamically.

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    REVIEW: Lapis Lazuli – A Loss Made Forever (2011)

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    Arriving all the way from Sweden, today out of our stack of band-submitted promos, we have Lapis Lazuli and their second full-length album “A Loss Made Forever”. Our first impression was that there was no way this band was not signed. For over 30 minutes, these Swedes treat us to seven very professional songs of emotionally charged Symphonic/Gothic Metal.

    Opening with the traditional introduction “Ascension”, we get some glimpses of the powerful keyboards behind this band as soon as the song starts. With the super catchy “A Loss Made Forever” we finally get to hear the band’s enchanting female vocals, courtesy of Frida Eurenius. While there are hundreds of female vocals emerging every day, Frida’s pipes are very unique in the sense that they mix sweetness with power in a very balanced way. The song also features very nice keyboard arrangements crafting a very emotive atmosphere nicely contrasted by powerful guitars.

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    Helevorn – Forthcoming Displeasures (2010)

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    Having recently ‘discovered’ Helevorn at WGT 2011, we set out to find all their releases once we got back to the USA. Playing a mixture of Death/Doom Metal with some Gothic elements, Helevorn is one of the last remaining bands that keep the genre alive. With “Forthcoming Displeasures”, these Spaniards have cranked out 50+ minutes of crushing music that will surely impress any fan of the genre.

    Since the opener “From Our Glorious Days”, the mood is set to dark and desolate place that only keeps getting more and more depressing over the tracks presented in this release. The mixture of bleak clean vocals with the crushing (and proper) growls makes the band a double threat and truly delivers in all emotional ranges. Opening with some atmospheric keyboards we have “Descent”. Keyboards provide a nice backdrop through this release and never get on the way of the crushing riffs, mournful vocals and mid-tempo structures that we all love from Death/Doom Metal bands.

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    Stream of Passion – Darker Days (2011)

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    The super talented Marcela Bovio returns with another outstanding Stream of Passion release. “Darker Days” as the title mentions, has a darker and more bombastic feeling than the band’s previous effort. This release shows a much more compact and well integrated band than the previous release as all 13 tracks are beautifully composed.

    Never selling out, Stream of Passion has not dared to go into the more profitable (and popular) ‘Pop Metal’ realms, and with “Darker Days” they will surely establish themselves as one of the premiere Gothic Metal bands. With the emotional opener “Lost”, you quickly know this album will surely be a great trip. This song presents nice arrangements, hefty doses of powerful guitar riffs and (of course) beautiful vocals.

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    Draconian – A Rose for the Apokalypse (2011)

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    After a few years of the release of “Turning Season Within”, Draconian finally makes their return with another crushing release: “A Rose for the Apokalypse”. With a considerable increase in maturity, the band crafts 10 tracks of the best Gothic Doom Metal in the scene. It is highly un-likely that any other band will rival the quality of this release in 2011.

    Always characterized by the ‘beauty and the beast’-style vocal struggle between Anders Jacobsson and Lisa Johansson, the band builds up on their depressive sound and adds extra elements that make this release even more punishing and beautiful. With a powerful opening, “The Drowning Age” delivers the first blow of brilliance presented in this release. As the song progresses it nicely mellows to clean/harsh/female vocals and engaging guitar riffing.

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    Katanga – Moonchild (2011)

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    In the very weird shit category today we have Katanga and their album “Moonchild”. The band plays Gothic Metal with some Electronic/Industrial elements. The first thing to notice is the typical singing/spoken German vocals. The use of electronic elements is pretty cool through this release, making it very catchy.

    The opening track “Marquis De Sade”, crafts a very psycho-sexual atmosphere and it serves as a great appetizer for this very diverse and interesting release. “Gottlos” delivers catchiness with powerful guitar riffs and catchy electronics surrounded by strong German singing. The ultra catchy “Moerder Der Erinnerung” draws similarities to Letzte Instanz, and with the added female vocals achieves very nice contrasts between the singing parts.

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    To Cast a Shadow - In Memory of (2011)

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    In the slow and painfully good category today we have To Cast a Shadow and their Doom album “In Memory of”. It has been quite a while since a band has managed to capture the emptiness and bleakness of Death/Gothic Doom Metal, but luckily To Cast a Shadow has given us 10 tracks of emotional music.

    Hailing from Norway, this band delivers a very simple yet effective approach to the genre and with angelic female vocals creates a very powerful atmosphere. Traditional Doom Metal riffs open “Tormented” and all is good until you get the male vocals, to be brutally honest… they suck, but the female vocals greatly make up for this in the rest of the song.

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    Beto Vázquez Infinity – Existence (2011)

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    ”Existence” marks the ’bands’ 4th full-length album, and it is clearly their most impressive and ambitious release to date. With a vast array of guest musicians, this release is one of THE Melodic Metal/Rock albums of the year, even though it was released in 2010 elsewhere, we pick the North American dates for our top 10 lists.

    With this double album, Beto Vázquez has managed to put together a very eclectic mix of musicians and each of the 20 songs combines powerful melodies with outstanding vocals. While the guest musician list is huge, is not as impressive as the ones from bands/projects as Star One, Ayreon and Avantasia. Most of the guests in this album, with the exception of Timo Tolkki, might be considered from the ‘B list’ of Metal, but they are equally talented and are just a bit less known that the ones on the ‘A list’ of Metal. We particularly like this approach since it allows the listener to discover lesser known bands due to the performances of their vocalists.

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    My Inner Burning – Eleven Scars (2011)

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    Jumping into the female-fronted Gothic Metal arena, today we have My Inner Burning and their second full-length “Eleven Scars”. Led by the strong voice of Rebekka Gaber, this band has a golden opportunity to get noticed by being with the label SPV.

    Being nothing revolutionary and just adding another different sounding vocalist to genre, we believe that My Inner Burning might not really make a break in the scene and most people will call them out due to their shortcomings.

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