Ladyhell has been pretty active lately: her own personal project and now this one with her full band! We can expect lots of darkness! Once again Max from Helalyn Flowers took control of the studio and worked out this dark pearl for us! Be seated!
Darker Ages, Lovelorn Dolls’ 3rd album is above all a true catharsis for the band members. A purgation of the darkest emotions and tormented moments they went through the last months, daring expressing them through the sombre events of our everyday life (the rise of religious extremism, terror attacks, the ageing society, wars, betrayals, etc.) in a courageous struggle and continuous quest for a spiritual renewal… And it’s not every band who goes this far to even thank their antidepressants in the album credits!
Darker Days is the first track and unveils the darkness, the sad story, the anger, the depression … The guitars sound pretty heavy, whilst we hear a grunting and a heavenly voice singing dark tunes. Dead Sea sounds a bit softer, like waves of the sea breaking up the coast: bringing us dead bodies. We all know the stories of children and adults who took a boat to escape and search for a better life … Lament was already released before: a nice gothic rock track with a good tempo. Shining Star is a soft one, filled with darkness, melancholy and sadness (despite the title). I like the guitars. Happy Endings is a mere dream, reaching out for them and again has some cool guitar-lines. The synthesizer has a nice place within the songs structure. I hope to hear this song one day on stage.
Psalms(In the name of God) is a cool one, with lyrics that are very actual and engage a thought shared by a lot of silenced people. The acoustic guitar is a good idea. Love Missile sounds like spreading love with the help of missiles. The song explodes now and then. Maniac Girl sounds harder and faster, with a heavy guitar sound: with some resting points. Legenda Natura is a strange song, hard to capture the right feel: between heavy and revolting with a soft twist. Another World is the last track, delivering a last blow. We even hear a kids choir. I feel as if it gives us some hope, but are still surrounded by darkness.
I must say that this album will somehow stay in my memory for long (for sure the last track). But stillI, at some point it was hard to keep the focus on the music: a little thing to work on for the futur. I am happy about the main story of the album: it tells us horrible but real stories of now. Looking forward to see them one day on stage!
