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Recorded almost two years ago, the debut album of the French atmospheric doom/death band Lethian Dreams was recently released by newly founded label Orcynia Records. The band has been changed since then, but the main members remain Carline Van Roos (vocals, guitars, keyboards, drums, bass), Matthieu Sachs (guitars) and Carlos D' Agua (vocals).
In this six - long - tracks debut Lethian Dreams exhibits their dedication to atmospheric doom/death metal, heavily influenced by early Anathema, My Dying Bride and Saturnus. Not surprisingly, because there are previous members in their line up, they also resemble to the French outfit Remembrance and if you want to extend your reference marks you can add the Swedish Draconian. Inside "Black Silver Dreams" you will find plenty of good-written melodies, dense rhythm guitar layers, deep keyboard made atmospheres and emotional vocals. More specific, Carlos D' Agua seems to appreciate Vincent Cavanagh's clean vocals and Thomas AG Jensen's growling ones and his performance is one of the strong points of this release. Undoubtedly the fans of the genre will rejoice, since it has all essential elements of the sound. Yet, my view is that "Black Silver Streams" in all its virtues, it doesn't reach the heights of the Remembrance releases and most specific "Silencing the Moments". This might say nothing at all, but I have the feeling that something critical is missing to transform them into a leading band of the scene. Maybe it is the background of the members that forces me to uneven comparisons or the overall level of the compositions. The production is quite good, but sounds too polished and digital in the vocals, especially the female ones. This abstracts the lifelike essence of their sound and possibly it is an area they have to pay attention to in future releases.
"Black Silver Streams" is a good release and those who follow this genre will find it interesting. The rest can keep an eye on them, since they have the potential to present something even better. |
