Vanishing Kids : "Miracle of Death"

Here is the 6th album from this progressive collective that is pushing the bong in darker more atmospheric direction for this album. By the time it gets to the guitar solos things have wandered into a more doom like jam, with the drums crashing around it. While the darker more atmospheric textures are present on "Only You" it is marching head with a more metallic drive to it thanks to the guitarist and there sense of adventure. This is given more of a blues swagger similar to older Royal Thunder on "Demon Glove" . Here Niki is really allowed to let her pipes shine in the steamy gloom. The guitar gives the song plenty of room to breathe. You know they have the power to shred, but the restraint to serve the song, speaks volumes about the band's mission statement. 

At under four and a half minutes "Midnight Child' owes more to 70's rock aside from the atmosphere haunting the shadows the vocals are crooned from. The haze of reverb the vocals lurk within allows them to be used more like an instrument rather than the typical verse chorus formula. This also creates a more obtuse quality that is not as jealous for your attention. The guitar wanders around this song more, as the arrangement becomes restless, but some how all still manages to work. They return to a doomier sound when lurching into "Feral Angel". This continues to be counter balanced by the ambiance accompanying the space the vocals occupies. 

"LKN" is almost more like an interlude with the synth wave wall of ambiance it lingers on. The vocals only add to this feeling by becoming another sparse layer to this . "Dust" closes the album. It threatens to pick up where the previous song left off until the creepy guitar riff comes in. The vocals not just on this song but the album as a whole tend to hover over the songs like Chelsea Wolfe. Halfway into this nine and a half minute song, I am already unsure where else they plan to drag things out to. They simmer on the organ sounds, basking a bit in the ambiance, while they try to figure the direction out. The end up decided just to jam things out into a guitar solo. I will give this album a 9, the mood, makes up for the less defined vocals hooks, and the turn into a more witchy direction. This comes out October 13th.