Before the Rain – Frail (2011)

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Featuring none other than Gary Griffith (ex-Morgion) on vocals, today we have Before the Rain and their killer sophomore album “Frail”. It’s a rare occasion that we actually take time to listen (let alone review) albums that somebody else recommends to us since we are very busy listening and reviewing everything we get from labels and PR companies, but “Frail” caught our attention since the first song and it’s too good of an album to not tell people about it.

Four years after their impressive “...One Day Less” debut release, the band comes back with a revamped lineup and a richer and broader sound. Taking full advantage of Gary’s vocals, the band’s sound shifts between traditional growls and clean ‘regular’ doom style vocals. The music is a lot better crafted and the hopelessness feeling given by the melodic passages is as good as it can get.

With the opening “And the World Ends There”, the band quickly shows the level of maturity they achieved since their last release. The mixture of vocals is done magically and the melodic passages are excellently crafted, some sections of this song will remind you of older Anathema (“The Silent Enigma” and “Pentecost” era). The weeping guitars near this song make it very enjoyable for fans of the genre.

“Shards” takes the same merciless approach and keeps things very slow paced and melancholic. The tension is greatly maintained by the slow and repetitive minimalist melodic/depressive passages. The singing around the 7th minute is just amazing and creates the whole hopeless feeling like in no other release this 2011.

The crushing 17 minute track “Breaking the Waves” is an emotional ride and with the female vocals it’s just 1000 times better than any other song of this album. “A Glimpse towards the Sun” features a more dynamic sound that greatly enhances the flow of this already very impressive release. In the next 16 minute epic (“Frail”) the band submerges the listener into another monumental track that features different movements and moods.

As we come to the end with “Peace is absent”, we have to summarize that we made it through 74 minutes of brilliant music and it didn’t feel that long. Having 4 tracks over 10 minutes is highly surprising that we didn’t found ourselves almost falling asleep. But this is no coincidence since the band’s music is amazing and the emotions captured by the release are perfectly portrayed.

The band members know they stuff and they each give a great performance, the guest appearances are also very solid (Natalie Koskinen (Shape of Despair) and Peter Bjärgö (Arcana) do some vocal work). There is only once issue I have with the final mix, the stupid swishing sound on the cymbals is just plain annoying and many bands/producers like this effect. Overall, we loved this album and we hope you take the effort to find it and buy it when it’s finally release, if you are a fan of Death/Doom Metal you will not be disappointed.

Band: Before the Rain Album: Frail
Label: Major Label Industries

Release: June 1st, 2011

Official Site myspace
Genre: Death/Doom Metal

Country: Portugal

Rating: 90/100
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