Mantos purpúreos

Columbia's Aggelos play gothic metal on the lighter side. Sounding like a mix of the classic gothic metal acts (Tristania, Theatre of Tragedy, The Sins of Thy Beloved) with a little bit of Nightwish-esque accessibility and operatic flair, Aggelos may not be the most original band around, but hardly any bands within these select subgenres are anymore. In any subgenre, it's about doing well the sound you're going for, and bringing your own touch to it in the process.

Fortunately, Aggelos manage to do that. Boasting three vocalists, there's a lot of variety to be heard. Everything from operatic vocals akin to Tarja Turunen's of Nightwish, to doom metal growls, all the way to black metal screeches can be found on this disc. In some ways, the impressive range of Lady Diana Miranda's vocals is quite stunning. The operatic singing is excellent enough, but when she does a more ancient-sounding type of singing on the title track, it's unbelievably good.

On the instrumental side, we're looking at some pretty mild goth metal here. It lacks the heavy doom-ish sound of The Sins of Thy Beloved circa "Lake of Sorrow", and doesn't obviously reach the heights of medieval beauty that Tristania in their glory days, but it's still a decent and well-played album. Guitars are halfway between dirgey and classic metal sounds, and the keys suit the music for the most part, especially on "Muriendo".

A lot of times, the music deviates from metal almost entirely, and seeks to explore more atmospheric territory - something I can take or leave with this band. Keyboard-based musical landscapes can only be done so much before I begin to grow a little tired. But when this band presents its heavier side, it's promising stuff. I think if this band eschews the Nightwish elements, and goes for a heavier and darker sound, they'll grow even better.

As it is, it's no "Widow's Weeds" or "Velvet Darkness They Fear" (not much is!), but it's a decent little album nonetheless.