Metal observer

Nosgoth - Lines Of Sorrow - Österreich - 2006

Points: 7,5/10

 

Roughly one year after their debut EP, Austrian NOSGOTH are back with their first full album, titled “Lines Of Sorrow” and had they been pretty hopeful back then, some things have changed in their Symphonic Metal. The biggest one undoubtedly happened on the mic, where the band now features a classically trained mezzosoprano with Solmaaz Adeli, born in California she sang at the opera of San Jose for a while before moving to Vienna, where she went to the Conservatory For Music And Dramatic Arts and now is singing in two operas, so they wanted to go classic, they got classic for sure!

The music itself pretty much follows what the EP already had hinted at, a very symphonic kind of Metal, which through the addition of Solmaaz has been elevated to the next level, even though her predecessor Kerstin also already had been classically trained. One asset of this band, which already had been founded way back in 1998, is that they yes, put a lot of emphasis on the symphonic character of their songs, but on the other hand keep them variable enough not to become too uniform, a trap many bands of this style fall into.

The intro “Ave Verum” takes on Mozart, while the first full song “Temptation” is a good example for the NOSGOTH sound, very symphonic, with good vocals, good structure, nothing flashy, but definitely very well done! “Care, Charmer Sleep” is the only song taken from the EP and it still convinces with its great atmosphere, while “Sound Of The Sea” at times goes a bit faster, the only down point there is that Solmaaz does some rather oddly spoken vocals. Who likes it calm and serene, will love “Entwined Visions”, where we are treated to some keyboards, piano and vocals, while “On Death” is the maybe most variable song in terms of speed and intensity, very well done!

Now NOSGOTH might not have the flashiness of NIGHTWISH or the immediate catchiness of WITHIN TEMPTATION, but it is nice to hear a band that does not try to take the obvious approach, but risk being overlooked in the mass of similar sounding bands by going their own way, which is a plus. Check them out, give them a chance, they deserve it!

(Online 12. November 2006)

 

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