Black Swan

Ismini started out as the personal project of the former female vocalist of Greek Gothic/Doom Metal band Faded Hopes. After getting in contact with musicians to work on the album, the project gradually transformed into a band. “Black Swan” is the first release of the band, which was released independently.

And my god, it’s good. The music could be best described as Symphonic Gothic Metal with some Doom tendencies. The album starts out with a nice neo-classical instrumental intro with piano and symphonic instruments, displaying the obvious musical talent of the band. The intro leads into the title track of the album, which starts as a continuation of the intro before the metal kicks in. The track clearly displays the style of the band, mixing Gothic with Symphonic and Neo-Classical elements, think a Therion and early Lacuna Coil hybrid. The band shows they can also play full throttle too with the very energetic “In Hell We Stay” and “Don’t Care”, in which Ismini displays a somewhat more aggressive singing style. The album comes full circle with the last track which is, like the first track, an instrumental atmospheric piece.

Ismini’s has quite a deep voice and has a somewhat unusual sound, which takes some time to get used too, but hell she can sing. Her original sound really contributes to the overall sound of the band, making the whole sound original and honest.

Music aside, I’m also very impressed by the professionalism of the band. The packaging and promotion materials like band photo’s and the design of their myspace page are top-notch. Furthermore, they shot a video which could be broadcast on television without any problem (there are lots of established bands who would be jealous of this clip!).

One of the best debut releases I have heard in a long while. A band to keep an eye on in the future.