This is the first release in many years from Mick Rowe, founding member of the '80s glam band Tempest. Mick has left his glam metal roots in the dust and is trying his hand at a new style of music. The folks that have been hyping this cd as the "next big thing in goth" are only half right on their assessment. While there is a very dark and somber vibe here and some goth elements this release has more of a modern rock feel in my opinion. The guitars are quite simple, repetitive and lack imagination sounding similar to the guitar work of Rackets and Drapes (only not as harsh) also very grungy like Wish For Eden and other "modern hard music" acts. The real goth sound comes from the keyboards which are much more original than the aforementioned Rackets. The vocals vary from a dark goth style as on the tracks "Cain" and "Render", the latter having guest vocals from William and Sherry Waters from Wedding Party, to a light and airy feel. Other guest musicians include Mick's brother Jaime Rowe (from Guardian fame) who handles some guitar chores and Tony Palacios (also from Guardian) who brings in some industrial sampling and also does the production. At times I almost get a "shoegazer" feeling from this disc especially with the light vocals that I mentioned and to further add to that is the guitar melody from the song "Fear" which sounds almost exactly like it came straight off of a Starflyer59 cd! One of my peeves about this disc is that some of the tracks are too short (ie: 2:30 to 3 min) but for most listeners that will be a plus as the guitars do tend to be monotonous and lack technicality. I however do not believe Mick was going for a technical sound at all here and achieved exactly what he was going for, a dark and moody modern rock album that will probably be welcome with open arms from Christian rock radio everywhere. Overall assessment, I LOVE this cd!! But that is my PERSONAL taste! If you are into only aggressive stuff and dont want to sit through the chugging thick sludgy guitar riffs and ethereal haunting vocals and ominous keyboards then you shouldn't purchase this. If however you like stuff like Wedding Party then this is a must.
7/10
Other coverage for this album
HM Magazine #78Reviewed by Doug Van PeltMick Rowe has been busy behind the scenes the last year or so. This latest project is a new venture into the dark, slow and doomy sounds of hard music. While his last demo favored too much keyboards in my humble opinion, he has beefed up the guitars while not abandoning the keys. The low, throaty vocals fit very well with the sounds. Some of the melodies, like "Fear" are very pop, while others,…
