Inner Wastelands

This is a solid gothic metal debut that showcases a great deal of potential, while at the same time falling short of success. The album opens with a bang, as Under the Veils gives a taste of all the elements this band has to offer in a way that showcases their ability to write compelling and exciting songs with a sense of purposeful evolution. Unfortunately, Dakrua immediately lose their footing and meander for the rest of the album, with follow-up tracks often lingering past their welcome and giving the impression they were padded out for time, while many others felt stagnant when compared to the opener.

The biggest weakness of this debut is the two vocalists: one providing female cleans, and the other both male cleans and growls. Unfortunately, both of them bring the album down. None of the vocal styles quite reach the mark, always missing some quality that would have taken them from slightly on the amateurish side to polished and fitting. These deficits are most glaring when either vocalist is given the spotlight on their own, which happens too often. However, despite being individually lacking, the vocals work surprisingly well during harmonies and layering, with each one making up for what the other lacks. And fortunately, there’s a great deal of harmony and vocal layering in this album.

That said, there is still a lot to enjoy with this album: as a whole, the compositional ideas feel quite varied compared to some of their peers in gothic metal. There are many catchy and groovy riffs, such as the fun arpeggiating lines in Of Chaos and A Silent Scream or the gallops of Mist. The keyboards add delightful character and atmosphere, especially with the title track Inner Wastelands’ turn to a more middle eastern sound.

But by far the highlight of Dakrua is their bassist: the band allow the bass to breathe in these tracks, giving it the freedom to move in and out of the melody lines, sometimes providing harmony, sometimes counterpoint, sometimes adding a tasteful accent or fill. In The Loss, the bass is even given a gorgeous opening lead line. And the warm tone of that fretless bass really makes it stand out above what all the other instruments are doing. Having the bass as a first-class instrument is truly refreshing.

Favorite Track: Under the Veils
Least Favorite: Amor, Vita, Mors