Cumbersome

Cumbersome is the sophomore album for this band from Italy. The band is comparable to their compatriots Lacuna Coil in that just like them they mix angelic female vocals with male vocals, although the female singer was not present on their first recording Still In The Grey Dying, which was different from this one. I know they are not the only act out there who changed their musical direction after including a female vocalist, but her angelic voice really fits the music well and serves as a perfect counterpart to the dark male voice. The music is a beautiful mixture between melodic dark and gothic rock, with very little black metal influences, especially on In Absentia Christi. You will also find some electronic influences, and samples that are used parsimoniously. There is a little surprise for people like me who know about the Spanish band Heroes Del Silencio since they have recorded a cover of their number one track Entre Dos Tierras which has been a hit on MTV about ten years ago. The guys have decided to give their own personnel interpretation of this song and you might be disconcerted the first time you listen to it, but after repeated listens you will just love how they recorded it. Besides, the song fits perfectly with the rest of the album. Cumbersome could have been an excellent album, but this release suffers from the flagrant disparity between very good songs and other common songs that seem to have been added just to fill the album. Come on guys, you know you can do better next time.