Review by Adam M on February 13, 2018.

Tristania performs gothic metal to the fullest extent. They are interesting in that apply multiple vocalists in both male and female types for their wares. The music here moves at a medium momentum and attempts to drip atmosphere into the tracks with the use of keyboards and more atmospheric elements. The effect is a pleasant one as the songs here certainly have an upbeat feeling that is very nice to listen to.

However, they are not as depressing as the likes of My Dying Bride and certainly sway towards a more positive spectrum of things. The emotion and passion of the band are felt, but there is even more emotion on display from some of the other acts in this genre such as Moonspell. A comparison to that band finds them being more varied, but less impactful overall. The compositions on this album are long and intricate enough. However, the music comes across as slightly simplistic sounding and this is a flaw with the work. The music is still very dense and exciting. The guitars form a nice swirling backdrop of emotional impact and they provide a nice blueprint for the material. The use of other strings and keyboards is nice and adds a layer of atmosphere to the mix.

This album provides a solid viewpoint for the gothic metal genre, though it isn’t perfect by any means. It still showcases the manners of adding sorrow and emotional outpourings to the music in fine fashion. One wishes the album would make the impact of My Dying Bride’s best material for example, but this is a notch below that output. Widow’s Weeds is still a very solid gothic metal album and worth a listen from anyone calling themselves a fan of the genre. May the atmosphere reign the day with Tristania.

Rating: 7.7 out of 10

Review by Michael on June 4, 2001.

Welcome to the third release from the avant-garde style metal side project from the lead singer/guitarist from Norweigen Black Metal gods Emperor. For those not familiar with Ishahn’s Peccatum it can only be described as a cathartic mix of black metal, death metal, gothic metal and classical music, Peccatum is an extremely interesting project indeed. Instantly, just from looking at the CD sleeve you know that this is going to be very different from anything Ishahn has been involved with before. Joined by his partners in crime Lord PZ (Source Of Tide) and female singer and keyboard player Ihriel they set about creating the complicated and at times twisted vision that is Peccatum.

Upon the first listen of this CD, I really had no idea what to think. Was it metal? Was it classical? Was it just complete chaos?, but after a few more listens I decided that it was none of those, rather a brilliant and quite unique concept. The first thing that strikes you about this album is it’s complexity. Peccatum have the unique ability to move in and out of many different musical styles within the same song, while still somewhat chaotically maintaining direction. The dynamics are out of this world, one second you are hearing subtle and at times quite bizarre classical string pieces accompanied by operatic style vocals (most of you will be aware of Ishahn’s ability in this field), then with no warning at all you’re hit with a wall of guitars and double-kick and the familiar sound of hissing black metal-like screams. If it wasn’t for the obviously talented members, realistically this concept should not work. But their superior musicianship shines with this release.
Fans of Emperor do not despair as a good portion of this album is good old fashioned head banging metal. But it’s the combination of the afore mentioned genre’s that sets this band apart. Ihriel’s voice is unbelievable, dark and mysterious but with an incredible range displaying all the traits of a well trained classical singer. The production is excellent, I don’t think I need to go into detail as we all know the recording standards of current Emperor and this album is of the same pedigree. There are some fantastic classical and heavy sections, but I found that the movements between the two were at times too sudden and left the listener a little confused as to where the song is moving. I look forward seeing what direction Peccatum take next as they are exploring a very interesting format with ‘Amor Fati’

Favourite Tracks? Probably the opener ‘One play. No script’ and the ever changing ‘A game divine?’

Bottom Line: A excellent, original and very dark concept, a tad chaotic but definitely one for the collection.

Rating: 8 out of 10