“Ladies and Gentlemen, The portals of darkness are open, and the Dead haunt over the Earth. Here comes The Vision Bleak”.
This year marks an almost unfathomable 20 years since those words were part of an intro that launched “The Deathship Has A New Captain”, one of the best debut Gothic Metal albums of its age. Since that legendary debut, The Vision Bleak have steadily sloughed off the Gothic/Victorian imagery, but maintained a fascination with classic tales of Horror and Darkness. This continues with “Weird Tales”, which is a tribute to the American fiction magazine first launched in 1923 that featured so many well-renowned Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror writers of the day.
In keeping with the theme, the album is presented as one complete song, in 12 chapters. Enabling Schwadorf and Konstanz free reign to weave their dark magic without the constraints of songs which have a definitive beginning and end. Instead, each chapter runs seamlessly into the next and is certainly best enjoyed in its 41 minute entirety. As was the case with previous album “The Unknown”, the band continue to add drama and mood to their songs, utilizing anything from acoustic Dark Progressive Rock through to Extreme Metal. All essential to build an atmosphere
Happily, still at the band’s core is that Gothic Metal depth that made them so infectious, though nowadays mixed with a dark, more varied soundscape that escorts the listener on the journey. Initially, that journey being mainly accessible from start to finish may seem cumbersome, but the format suits the band’s song-writing style perfectly, as they are able to take more time to build the album in different directions, rather than just within one shorter composition – and it really gives the whole album an impact. 41 minutes seems to pass in no time at all, with the idea being that you simply must start from the beginning once more.
Once this has been repeated a few times, the depths of the album unveil themselves gradually. The riffs are as heavy as ever, the acoustic parts suitably atmospheric, the keyboards enhance the mood and the rhythms keep varying and twisting as the chapters morph into one another effortlessly. The vocals of course are the final brush strokes, they tie the stories together with that familiar dark and low style that The Vision Bleak are known for, though dipping into a harsher style when the mood demands it. Eight years is a lengthy time to wait for a new album, but fans shouldn’t be disappointed, as The Vision Bleak unveil another weighty, impactful and meticulously crafted chapter (well, 12 actually) in their already illustriously dark career. All wrapped up in a luxurious Limited Edition 36 page Hard-cover Art-book if you’d like an even more immersive experience!
(8.5/10 Andy Barker)
Leave a Reply