REVIEW: VIRGIN BLACK - SOMBRE ROMANTIC

 

VIRGIN BLACK - SOMBRE ROMANTIC (The End Recs, 2002)

Produced by Rowan London

Recorded at JR Recording

Photography by Samantha Escarbe. Layout by Camren Harm

Tracks: 1- Opera de Romanci (I:Stare), 2- II: Embrace, 3- Walk Without Limbs, 4- Of Your Beuty, 5- Drink the Midnight HYmn, 6- Museum of Iscariot (I-Stagnation, II-Death, III-Procession), 7- Lamenting Kiss, 8- Weep For Me, 9- I Sleep With the Emperor, 10 A Poet´s Tears of Porcelain

I must congratulate The End Records because of this excellent release!!! Opening with an amazing orchestral part with cello and eastern sounding vocals (in fact this made me remind of the soundtrack of a movie called "Before The Rain" which is a Macedonia/UK coproduction). Then suddenly all explodes and the orchestration is joined by an extremely heavy band on "Embrace"!! This is the perfect combination between ethereal music and extreme heaviness (this is why I think that being heavy doesn´t mean necesarilly to be at full speed all the time). Excellent guitarist...she is Samantha Escarbe and plays very interesting riffs with a very loud sound, she creates melodies and also gives space for the keyboards and the drums to breath. One of the best releases that I reviewed this month. Favorite tracks: "Museum of Iscariot", "Weep for Me" and "Walk Without Limbs". Contact: www.theendrecords.com