Lights of Night

Askara is a Swiss progressive gothic metal quartet with emotional lyrics that has just released its second full length effort Lights of Night. On paper, this band should be right down my alley. In reality however, the band is quite a mixed bag. Let me point out my divergent ideas on this record.

On the positive side, this band manages to interweave atmospheric piano sounds into its metal soundscapes. Many songs come around with atmospheric interludes, dynamic sections and haunting melodies that keep the songwriting creative, intriguing and unpredictable throughout. The piano work contrasts the metal soundscapes refreshingly without watering them down in any way. Up next, the female vocals are quite good. They might not be extraordinarily distinctive but they have an organic, peaceful and soothing tone that blends in very well. This is certainly a refreshing change if compared to numerous exchangeable female-fronted symphonic metal bands.

However, this album is obviously not without its flaws. The rhythm section with bass and drums is decent but could certainly be more adventurous, diversified and playful to grab attention. The same could be said about the guitar work that is serviceable in the songwriting context but rarely has memorable, passionate or technically impressive moments. The elephant in the room are however the male growls. Don't get me wrong now, growls are an essential part in gothic metal bands but they lack fluidity, pacing and skills in this specific case. It can't be denied that the growls are passionate but they don't harmonize at all with the instrumental work and the other vocalists. That might also be due to a subpar production as the growls are at times buried in the mixture and at other moments extremely loud and clashing with everything else that is going on at the same time.

Simply stated, Askara is a band that shows much promise. Its distinctive sound has much atmosphere, creativity and depth. The piano work and female vocals are particularly praiseworthy. However, the band needs to work on some skills such as a more dynamic rhythm section, more technically skilled guitar play, more refined growls and even a more balanced production. As it is now, Lights of Night is passable but the quartet certainly has the potential to be much more than just that. For the time being, I would only recommend this band to adamant traditional gothic metal fans.