This band features former members of Tristina and Theater of Tragedy, but rather than making melodramatic opera metal they are hitting some straight up goth. Sisters of Mercy and the Cult are the first two bands that come to mind in this hybrid. The baritone croon sits comfortably over the middle of the road style rock playing. It's not overly geared towards the dance floor. Hookier than I suspected the first song is good , but then makes me wonder what range of dynamics are these guys capable of branching out into ? The guitar riffs sound more Steve Stevens is their inspiration rather than Billy Duffy. They get a little darker going into the second song. The chorus repeats a little too often for me. "Ruins" is like a slowed version of "She Sell Sanctuary". The guitar wanders off into some interesting place, but the song is not very focused.
They pick up the pace on "Tale No Tale". While there is a lot going right from them sonically and they hitting many of the marks I want from music, the songs are not compelling and the band is relying too much on the 80s sound. I think this is what keeps the choruses from punching as much as they could. There is more of a western tinge to "Winter". This helps them give the album a couple of more color. The vocals work really well with this shift. His croon reminds me a little of My Dying Bride.They end the album with two alternate version of the first song which is also the single. I only counted the remix as the edit is too much like the first version. I'm not sure why they didn't write two more songs. For what this is it's cool enough. I'll round it up to a 7, but as far as the new wave of post-punk this owes more to Billy Idol and the Cult. Great artists to be influenced by, I am a little surprised that considering where these Norse men came from that there is not more of a bite to their sound, but they achieved what they were going for.
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