Dark Meditation : "Where the Darkness Bleeds'

You would think any band that blends metal and goth is so on brand for us here that we could do nothing but sing it's praises. The Seattle band's last album scored an 8.5, but the vocals did not wow me. This is still better than just respectable, anything an 8 or above is a great album, though anything under a 9 does not normally make it into my regular listening rotation, due to the fact I review over 700 albums a year so there is only so much time in the day to listen to music, albums I rate a ten are taking up the bulk my free-time listening.  These guys have improved since their last album, the vocals feel more emotive. I think my problem last time was things felt relatively uniform last time around so we will see how this album holds, up but so far the opening track is solid energy-wise.

There is a little more of a Mercyful Fate mood to the second song., The vocals drop down into more of a growl at times.  There is a more 80s-tinged gallop to the guitar and the vocals are more dramatic on the chorus to illicit a dynamic shift. "Hidden Daggers" feels more like In Solitude, this was a comparison made on the last album. Really the gasping drama of the vocals is the only thing holding it in the goth direction. Deathrock is an overstatement, as death rock comes from a sleazier more drug-addled sub-genre of goth. The more whispered lines have the most King Diamond-like feel, there are no falsetto screams. I guess you have to know your limitations. 

The title track has more of a swaggering rock feel. This leaves more room for the vocals to croon, when doing so there is a vague of Danzig thrown into the mix. I would have Samhain be closer to Death-rock than what these guys are doing. The vocals have perhaps too much room, as they sound a little less focused in their melodies. The album closes with "Thorned Gods and Honeyed Blades", its more of an outro than an actual song. I will give this a 9, though chances are I will personally listen to In Solitude or Mercyful Fate when in the mood for this sort of thing, they were more successful and focused as songwriters overall, the first time around they had the sound dialed in this time they got the vocals hammered into place to make everything work. If you are looking for dark melodic metal with sung vocals this band is for you. 

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