At least I don’t feel quite as guilty stating this album’s rather predictable take on female fronted Goth metal as I did with Elis and the tragic death of their front woman, Sabine Dünser.

As with virtually all of Napalm’s Goth metal roster, you pretty much know what you are getting; operatic female vocals layering sugary Goth metal riffs and accompanied by the usual faceless male counterpart. And of course, all of it is lushly produced and heavy on the emotions and keyboards.

The thing is despite all it’s Lacuna Coil/Nightwish wanna be prose, Austria’s Visions of Atlantis are just an average band when it comes to their song writing. There’s the predictable mix of mildly up tempo, chunky tracks like opener “Back From Beyond”, “Wing Shaped Heart”, “Passing Dead End” and “Through My Eyes” and “Nothing Left”, somber rockers like “The Secret”, “My Dark Side Home” and closer “Seven Seas”, and of course a couple of expected sappy ballads like “The Poem” and “Return To You”. Its all very by the numbers and predictable.

Melissa Ferlaak has a slightly over the top operatic voice that’s a bit harsh but par for the course while Mario Plank is the usual, romanticized male singing voice. It all adds up for a competent but rather underwhelming entry into the Goth metal genre and one that’s libel to still get stream rolled by their peers.

[Visit the band's website]

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