Their previous album (Hope Is Here) with their previous singer (Rob Vitacca) is still in high rotation on my personal playlist. I was curious about the new singer (Julian Larre) and how the new album would sound. I must also admit I missed the launch of Bleeding Stars, the actual first album with Julian on vocals, so here we go!
Wall Of Gloom is the first song and almost sounds like a doom metal track with on top a slice of melancholia and some clean vocals (next to harsher/grunting vocals). This song needs some time before I could dig it. At some point I was thinking it could be a new track from Draconian, but in a duet form with a guest male vocalist. A cloak Wovenof Stars sounds more like a gothic metal track. Yet again we get some screaming, but also a bit of pathos. The tempo goes up and down, like waves in the middle of the ocean and they are really huge waves! Nebula starts softly and is a good introduction for their new singer as we finally hear his voice really good, but then again after a while the grunting and screaming takes over and changes the song into a real metal song, however the waves here a less high and the general tempo is low. In A lengthening Shadow sounds more like a gothic rocker where the main vocals go pretty low (gothic minded) with now and then more regular vocals (metal minded). I like the melodic touch here. It feels like one of the better songs so far with the perfect balance in the sound. The Curtain Of White Silence reminds me somehow of Fleddy Melculy (in the English version of De hel niet gezien aka ain’t seen the hell): I like the passion and desperation in the vocals. There are also more harder parts in this song where the drums explode, just as the vocals. I have to listen to it many times before I can let go my original thought about Fleddy Melculy. All in all I can say in all honesty that it is a great song! Unseen explodes from the beginning and mixes clean vocals with screams and grunts. The drums hit hard! Every now and then we get some time to catch some breath, but only for a very short while. The Vastness of Infinity mixes sweat vocals with screams and sounds a bit more like on the previous album (the sound I really love), I almost hear their previous singer here. To Dissappear In You could have been something romantic, but the screams and grunts shred it and change it into a hard hitter. Still the low gothic minded vocals are also included in this song. I hear some synths in the background: they give it a modern touch (getting closer to the sound of The Unguided). An Invisible Beginning is one of my favourite tracks on this album! I like the melodic touch, the vocals and the spooky/gothic touch. The tempo is also really good! The last one is also the title track: Shroud of Night. It feels like a monster has awaken and took over the vocals, whilst the clean vocals try to survive withing the wall of sound. The song is filled with pathos and noise. It’s one of the hardest songs on this album.
Well, I think I will keep it on my player for a while and maybe I’ll cut it down to a few songs, was my original stand but a few weeks after I finished this review the whole album is still in my list and I still do play it on regular base! I’m happy I gave it a try and let it grow on me! Maybe the next album will be directly more my thing, but I suppose it’s always hard when you have their best album so far fresh in your mind. I hope to see them one day on stage! In the end Heike Langhans gained a lot of fans when she suddenly appeared in Draconian and her departure now also feels like a hard thing (however they go back to their previous singer). We’ll see! We’ll give Julian Larre credits!
Line-Up: Julian Larre (Vocals) Oliver Nikolas Schmid (Guitars) Ilker Ersin (Bass) Dominik Scholz (Drums)
