Review by Tobias on December 26, 2001.

This slow tempo bout of emo-metal sadness is atmospherically full but really doesn’t have much more value than fuel for the melancholic teen who really wants to light candles and whine to himself about how treacherous his life and loves are.

Now, this isn’t just a lyrical criticism, the music follows suit with a long slow and dreary “woe is me” feel to it. Even with this self-pitying style, the music can at times be very beautiful… right up until the vocals kick in and it’s instantly a carbon copy of everything else on the album.

What I find bizarre about this album is that each element is well performed and talented, but it all loses it’s grip on the listener soon after the best track on the album, Taint of Shame, because of it’s repetitive paradoxically densely beautiful monotony. Ok, so that’s a little hard to follow, let me try explaining again; it’s full, it’s beautiful, it’s well-done and it’s freaking boring.

So, what is it about all this seemingly great musicianship that loses the listener to boredom? Well, monotony for one; while the music rises and falls and has plenty of organic breathing, each song seems to be made up of exactly the same notes in a slightly different order. The arrangement approach seems almost identical on each song and the keyboards, which are intended to flesh out the atmosphere, often drown the rest of the music.

I think it may be the keyboards themselves that really destroy this album, rehashing the same slow I-wish-I-were-spooky licks and bridges.

Bottom Line: Metal for drama-queens.

Categorical Rating
Musicianship: 7
Atmosphere: 8
Originality: 5
Production: 5
Overall: 4

Rating: 5.8 of 10