For Vengeance and for Love

“For Vengeance and for Love” is the second full-length from British Gothic Metal act Apparation. Now make no mistake about it, I’m not the biggest fan of this style, but it’s pleasing to hear Apparation know their craft well and have certainly created an enjoyable album.

What it is that sets Apparation apart from the seas of Nightwish clones, and gimmicky female fronted Metal acts is that they never neglect the power of the riff. So many acts rely on a simple chugging guitar backdrop which is what makes “For Vengeance and for Love” such a breath of fresh air. I didn’t have high hopes for this loading it into my CD player, and I was nigh on stunned when after a brief atmospheric intro the band kicked into a quality memorable guitar riff. I had a massive smile on my face, even in the verse the guitars are still riffing away, and have a sweet Symphony X vibe.

The vocals are well done - albeit unspectacular - although at least measure up to the required standard of the style. The band has a definite Power Metal slant, but there is a darker edge which is good, and the keyboards are again well done. There are a nice few shred-tastic guitar solos to boot, which whilst sometimes bite off more than they can chew are still impressive. Some tracks don’t work as well as they could here, such as “You Can Never Leave”, but for every track that might not hit the mark, there is a “Betrayed” or a “The World of Our Creation” which are quality numbers.

Overall an album that fans of Gothic Metal, Female fronted Metal and the like are going to want to check out. I commend them for their happening guitar work, and it really sets this release apart. Whilst it isn’t brilliant, “For Vengeance and for Love” is definitely good, and you could do far worse as far as the style goes. This is definitely for fans of the good stuff such as Epica and After Forever, recommended.

Originally written for http://www.metal-observer.com