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I will make
it known right now that I listen to more than just Metal. I can appreciate
most styles of music to varying degrees, and my personal collection is
comprised of many different genres. However, when I'm composing reviews
for a Metal website, I am used to reviewing Metal.
This four-song single has no traces of Metal whatsoever. Angel's full
length, "A Woman's Diary - Chapter 1" probably is Metal, but
this pre-released single most certainly isn't. None of the four tracks
have any distorted guitar on them, there is sparse percussion on the last
song, and the instrumentation is simply piano, orchestral section, and
acoustic guitar. Things liven up slightly on "Darkness", but
it feels more like something from a demonic modern musical than a Metal
album.
That being said, I want to make a few things clear. Of course there are
Metal albums with melodic and emotional, "non-Metal" songs on
them. It's fairly common practice, as it provides the listener with a
bit of a break from the heavy onslaught, while also demonstrating the
band's softer capabilities. There's nothing wrong with that at all, but
when you (as a label, or band) release a single that simply can't be classified
as being
Metal, you create a false illusion concerning what the band really sounds
like. These songs are all very beautiful and ambient - they would be excellent
for a candle-lit dinner with a loved one, if there were more of them -
but I'm sure they don't do the band justice. The entire band actually
gets credited on the booklet, and from what I can tell, it seems like
every ingredient for a Gothic Metal album is in place. Operatic female
vocals, two guitarists, a bassist, a drummer, and an orchestral arranger.
Sadly, only three of these members makes any sort of appearance on this
disc.
What also strikes me as being a little odd is that the first two songs,
"Don't Wanna Run" and "Mother" seem to be taken from
the full length, but they are both edited single versions. The bracketed
notes for "Don't Wanna Run" state that it's a 'special single-edit
of the song', and for "Mother" the notes read that it's an 'acoustic
version of the song from the upcoming album'. It makes even less sense
to release acoustic and 'single-edit' versions of real tracks to reviewers,
because there's nothing to weigh them against. Had the original Metal
versions of the songs been on this single as well, it would have made
it a lot easier to formulate a good review. As it is, I can only say that
for what these songs are, they are very pleasant, but not worth more than
two or three listens.
To anyone who has the option of buying this or their full-length: grab
the full album first, unless you really want these four short, beautiful,
semi-Gothic tracks. Also highly recommended for collectors, as it contains
the two special single-edits/versions.
Stu Patterson
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