Dark Melancholic Metal from Germany – and the band’s debut no less! It wasn’t so long ago that Finland had the monopoly on Dark Metal, and sure the opening track does show that Embercrow have indeed, at some point, been listening to Sentenced, but also Paradise Lost…and to be fair Alice in Chains. There is a vague ’90’s-ness’ to this opener, mainly in the slightly more laid back vocal style, but this is just the first example that Embercrow are not an easy band to categorize.
Nope, second track ‘In Search Of The Sun’ goes even further with a Hawkwind inspired synth sound and an approach similar to early Lake Of Tears. There’s a slightly more progressive edge to the usual Dark Metal on view here – there are elements of Riverside or Porcupine Tree in many of the song arrangements, though vocally Embercrow are never quite as smooth and polished. ‘In The End’ has parts where the vocals are bordering on out of key…but maybe that’s to tie in with the Chopin ‘Marche Funebre’ piano rendition in the middle. There are even some reasonably executed grunts in ‘The Eternal Dialogue’ and the Folk-tinged Evereve meets Soundgarden of ‘Isle Of Origins’, with it’s hint of a Celtic theme that continues and almost hits melancholic Big Country on the next track ‘Plainsong’!
The whole album has a very dry production, sometimes seeming like a bit more bass is needed which can leave the vocals a tad exposed and some of the arrangements a tweak thin. And while I like the fact that the band are keen to explore different areas, making the first listen to “Blacklight Wanderers” a voyage of discovery, it feels to me like the band gel best on the fuller, more focused tracks such as ‘Vagrant Moon’. It seems to blend many of the band’s earlier unveiled styles cleanly and a lot more effortlessly. ‘A Cheerless Companion’ is another track in a similar vein that just seems to work. There is a slightly more Gothic Doom feel to both tracks in parts, echoing the mid-nineties jaunts of misery-maestros My Dying Bride, coupled with a hint of 70’s prog in the keyboards and a regular nod towards latter-day Hetfield in the vocals (I leave it up to each individual listener to decide if this is a good or bad thing!). This only leaves the gloomy epic closing track ‘Return To The Outer Realms’, which really does remind me of Lake Of Tears again (which is no bad thing) and helps the second half of “Blacklight Wanderers” feel rather more concise and focused than the first. There are some really nice lead guitar melody lines on this track too, that echo some of the ones sprinkled throughout the earlier tracks which it would have been a travesty not to mention.
On the whole I guess “Blacklight Wanderers” has a feel of late nineties Dark Metallers such as Dreadful Shadows, Cryhavoc and early Sentenced. A bit more raw, less commercial. But Finland got inspired – Sentenced matured, Charon came along with To/Die/For and many more and the whole sound got so much…bigger. If that’s what you are after in your Dark Melancholic Metal then maybe Embercrow aren’t for you (though elements will be). However, if you prefer a band at the start of their career, exploring boundaries, chucking in unexpected moments just for the hell of it and stripping things back a bit, then they might just be worth a listen.
(6/10 – Andy Barker)
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