Gothic Metal

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    Ashes You Leave – The Cure For Happiness (2012)

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    What better early X-mas gift can anybody ask for than the latest Ashes You Leave album titled “The Cure For Happiness”. Dropping this November 29th, 2012 through Rock’n’Growl, this eagerly awaited release is set to fill that void left in 2012 of an excellent Gothic Doom Metal release. Delivering nine tracks of pure melancholy and powerful emotions, this album is sure to keep the band’s legacy intact of excellent album that are only release when the band really feels they are done right.

    Newly fronted by Giada “Jade” Etro, the band returns in full strength as they have managed to find another excellent vocalist that can lead their melancholic music. Wasting no time, she delivers a commanding performance in “Devil In Disguise”. In this amazing track the band nicely sets a melodic mood with their traditional violins and well-crafted keyboards. Jade’s vocals immediately gave us chills when listening to the song since it is very eerie how well they mix with the band’s sound and greatly enhance the atmosphere.

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    Oniromantic – The White Disease (2012)

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    All the way from Italy, today we have Oniromantic and their very unique (and catchy) mixture of Progressive with Gothic Metal. Reminding us a bit to bands like Ommatidia and even Eternal Tears of Sorrow, this very unique band has a deep melancholic vibe in their music that makes its very intoxicating and quite fresh. Featuring eight delightful tracks, this is one hell of a release for a surprisingly unsigned band.

    The band start heavy with “Saturn Hellucination” delivering powerful riffs and a dreamy vibe that is greatly enhance by the powerful clean vocals of Mauro Mazzara. The melodic passage in this track is pretty well crafted and nicely indicates what is to come in the later songs. In “High Resolution God” we got quite engaged by the playful progression of the song and the atmospheric keyboard usage. The female vocals on “Crimson” are quite heavenly and very well used.

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    Access Denied – Touch of Evil (2012)

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    Arriving today from Pitch Black Records we have Access Denied and their weird mixture of Gothic Rock with some Heavy Metal elements. Hailing from Poland, the band deliver nine tracks that the more we listen to them, the more we can’t really get into them. With a very linear and predictable style, this band’s release sounds very hollow and quite dull since the first few songs.

    Opening with a quite deceitful intro track that leads you to believe you are in for a treat of epic proportions, the band really brings the standard way down with the childish “Messenger of Death”. In this song we get some insipid guitars alongside some of the flattest female vocals we have heard in quite a while. They do have a few interesting changes, but they might be accidental since the ideas of the song seem all over the place.

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    Seed of Sadness – Seed of Sadness (2012)

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    Arriving all the way from Greece, today we have Seed of Sadness and their excellent self-released debut EP. In this self-titled release, the band delivers five tracks of super catchy female-fronted Power/Gothic Metal. With a heavy emphasis on catchy keyboards and the commanding vocals of Stellaria, this band has a very enjoyable sound that most fans of the genre will immediately fall in love with.

    With the help of Bob Katsionis (Firewind) on keyboards, this band does a great job in creating lush atmospheres to lay their solid guitar work and epic vocals. Using strong and determined female vocals, Seed of Sadness has a really strong front-woman that delivers powerful performances in each track. Since the opener “Remnant of a Dying Smile”, the band blows things wide open with a highly symphonic and very energetic track that will instantly make you a fan of this band.

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    Lacrimosa – Revolution (2012)

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    With a heavier sound than before, today we have the return of Lacrimosa with the very diverse “Revolution”. As the title indicates, this album feels a bit like a revolution between the band’s inner demons through ten very different and often puzzling tracks. Featuring guitarist Mille Petrozza (Kreator) and drummer Stefan Schwarzmann (Accept), this album crosses into Metal territory a bit more than some of the band’s previous releases.

    Opening with the lush "Irgendein Arsch ist immer unterwegs", this album starts with a 100% typical Lacrimosa track. We particularly love the elegant piano and orchestral sections, something that the band has always excellent at. “As the World Stood Still For a Day” is another very well constructed track with beautiful female vocals and a very ethereal feeling surrounded by hard-rocking guitars. Mixing the older Lacrimosa style with more aggressive guitars, “Verloren” is a very odd track that in some moments feels a bit odd and tossed together very weakly; we are not big fans of it.

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    To/Die/For – Samsara (2012)

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    After a brief split, To/Die/For finally returns with Jarno Perätalo and Juha-Pekka Sutela delivering ten powerful tracks that are designed to return the band to the spotlight. While not the best album of the band’s career, “Samsara” has quite a few catchy tracks that will entice the fans of the band to return and capture the ears of new listeners.

    Initially released in Finland and other places at the end of 2011, Massacre Records is finally giving this release a wider release and exposure. Opening with “Kissing the Flames”, the band comes back to the catchy riffing and subtle keyboard hints that have made them so popular in the past. The vocals are as effective as ever and the overall pace of the song is very traditional for the band.

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    Inner Blast – Sleepless Monster (2012)

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    With a Gothic Metal style that we haven’t heard in quite a while, today we have Portugal’s Inner Blast and their debut EP “Sleepless Monster”. Reminding us of Gothic Metal bands from the early 2000’s, the simplicity behind this band’s sound makes them very fresh and something completely different to what we are currently used to these days. Providing us with nearly 28 minutes of music, the five tracks in this EP are quite enjoyable and bring back some nostalgic memories from the past.

    Since the opener “Better Days”, the band delivers a very ‘old-school’ vibe thanks to the simple production. The keyboards are just present to add atmosphere, and are never overdone like in all bands these days. Liliana’s vocals are very natural and don’t try to be operatic or anything, just filled with feeling and that is all. We have missed music like this since bands like Nightwish, Epica, etc., now sound like a movie soundtrack and some of the emotion behind the music is greatly lost.

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    Delain – We Are The Others (2012)

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    After being shelved for several months by Delain’s European label, “We Are The Others” finally sees the light of day in North America on July 3rd, through Sensory Records. Featuring four bonus live tracks, this North American version is packed with enough material to keep the fans of the band pleased for a long time.

    Three years have passed since the highly popular “April Rain”, and with “We Are The Others” the band is looking to establish themselves as one of the premiere Gothic Metal bands in the world. Following the same musical direction, Delain delivers 12 tracks of well composed Gothic Metal with heavy Rock influences. The band does a few adjustments in terms of making their music catchier, but nothing much has changed.

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    Winter Haze – Silent Deception (2011)

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    Today we have Italy’s Winter Haze delivering an exciting Symphonic Metal EP release titled “Silent Deception”. Featuring four tracks, this EP showcases a very mature and interesting band that can write and execute superbly melodic songs. The band’s biggest asset besides their musical skills is the sweet and unique voice of Giorgia Marra and its powerful range, making them immediately a force to be reckoned in this very crowded genre.

    Opening with a jazzy sax intro to the track “Cross the Sea”, this release sets the mood very effectively. The guitar work is pretty standard and very catchy, allowing Giorgia’s vocals to shine very nicely. Mixing clean male vocals and grunts with the classically trained female vocals is far from revolutionary, but when done right (like here) it is very effective and powerful. This track also has some nice vocal layering that gives it a very professional and dramatic edge.

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    69 Chambers – Torque (2012)

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    Making its way from Switzerland, today we have the 69 Chambers and their sophomore full-length release “Torque”. With almost 65 minutes of catchy and well-crafted Gothic Rock with an emphasis of the rock side of things, this band delivers a quite enjoyable release that will surely grab the attention of fans of female-fronted bands.

    Led by the multi-talented (and super-hot) Nina Treml, 69 Chambers does a great job in combining catchiness with groovy guitars and a very healthy sense of melody, something that bands with longer careers struggle with. The opener “Cause and Effect” features none other than Chrigel Glanzmann of Eluveitie on backing vocals, making this song very aggressive and well rounded. Nina’s vocals are quite enchanting and straight forwards, no need for any soprano crap here.

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