The Vision Bleak

Carpathia: A Dramatic Poem
Prophecy Productions

"Wow." That was the first thing I said as the album finished playing. Heavy as hell arrangements combined with just the right amount of orchestration, and a deep male clean vocalist… now that's a recipe for a great album. They even have some songs with distinct Thrash overtones. I've never before heard Goth Thrash, and probably for a good reason, but these guys make it work. With only eight tracks on the album, they really do cram in as many different styles and influences that they can come up with. "The Curse Of Arabia" has an appropriately strong Middle-Eastern feel to it, and "Kutulu!" features some eerie tribal chanting. The average track length is around 5-6 minutes, but they fill that time with so much varying music, you don't even really notice.

Now, bear with me as I make the craziest comparison yet: I dare say that this band's vocalist reminds me of the singer from the 80's synth-pop group Blancmange. Kudos to you, the reader, if you know who I'm talking about. Both their voices work equally well in their respective settings, but especially here amongst the up-beat Gothic backdrop that The Vision Bleak lays down with skilled precision.

That is not to say that all their songs are up-beat and Thrash-esque. They do have some rather Doomy sections, and some generally slower arrangements. All of this works to break up the flow in such a way that keeps your interest up. I mean, if the whole album had been Goth Thrash, I would have been terribly bored by the end. I can only take so much Thrash on a good day, and blending it with Goth is a risky idea to begin with.

The only technical problem that springs to mind at the time of this writing is at beginning of "The Charm Is Done", the drums seem to be miked a bit too high. They are fine all the way through the album until it reaches that final track, and then they just spike right up there, with the snare hits coming like gunshots. After a while, things seem to even out, but that one little detail caught my ear right away when I first put the album on.

My recommendation would be for you to buy the disc and decide for yourself.

Stu Patterson