Bleak Silver Streams

From the first track, and all the way to the end, it reminds of the early Theater of Tragedy. Very similar sound, as well as some melodic progressions, even vocals sound familiar. This is not necessarily a bad thing, as ToT were really great and many people miss their early gothic-doom era.

This work by Lethian Dreams is very clean, very good quality. Sound is nice and dense, though a bit too light, even in comparison with ToT, so doom metal fans will definitely find it lacking depth. The songs are good, yet too similar to each other. You never notice when the next one starts as they are just very alike, in everything from tempo to some melodic elements. This feels like a very lightened doom metal album, which focuses more on atmosphere than melodies, however failing to rid of the repetitiveness of traditional doom metal. I mean, if you are going to make it more accessible to a wider audience, lighting up the sound is just not enough, some more apparent melodies are due. In doom metal, atmosphere is very important, it is almost dark ambient in its purpose, but here it lacks, and there is no melodic component to replace it and keep your attention.

In general, I quite like how the album sounds, and all the tracks are not bad, yet not memorable. This is the first album by this band I listened to, and I hope they will develop their song writing skills and bring us something more exciting. I will keep checking them out, as it is clear these guys do have the potential to significantly improve.

France has been really doing things right over the last few years in regards to metal, as many new (and very good) metal bands have been sprouting up from the underground to make an individualistic and original name for themselves. And, Lethian Dreams is a band that deserves your attention if you call yourself a mega doom metal fan. To start, this is a very long record, with every song being at least 8 minutes or longer, with a grand total of just under an hour of some of the bleakest music laid down on tape. Just be prepared to go on an epically sad and miserable journey with this band, for they set out to drain every tear from your eyes with their brand of doom. Set the mood right by playing this record to the accompaniment of an overcast, rainy day.

This band is definitely all about creating the perfect atmosphere with their very slow, melancholic music filled with an added amount of misery and sadness coming out of Carline's vocal passages. Her vocal approach makes this music lean more toward the gothic side of the doom spectrum. There are harsh vocals sprinkled here and there in some of the tracks as well, that for me give the music that very appealing death metal tinge I am such a fan of. Also, Matthieu's guitar playing is very heavy, precise and complimented with several gorgeous solos throughout each track to really drive home this bleak outlook on life to the listener. His lead work on this record is very captivating to me and it really makes my heart fill with great emotion.

I am not a huge fan of programmed drums, (in this case they are particularly very basic, practically nonexistent, and even kind of boring) yet they are overshadowed by the beautiful guitars, bass and that incredibly sad, angelic voice. Maybe this was a purposeful choice of the band to use the drums in this fashion to really make the music sad, but for me, I would like to have seen a real drummer used here. Say for instance, someone with the skills of Stuart Springthorpe to give the music a bit more organic feeling with a bit stronger heartbeat. But I suppose a superb drummer of his caliber is very hard to come by.

Another negative characteristic of this music to some may be that the music kind of all sounds the same song after song. Those who are not as heavily into the extreme side of doom metal like that of the "funeral doom" tempos may all together quickly turn away from this record. But for me, I say don't quickly turn your volume knob down and give this record a fighting chance because I feel in the right setting that this music is very therapeutic. It calms the stress that may be present in you after a long day at the office. And I recommend reading the lyrics to these songs because they are smart and give a real insight into what the band was trying to convey during the recording of this record. And with many listens to this record you will see this is definitely not a copycat, cookie cutter doom band! They offer up some crafty originality in this very crowded genre. Standout tracks would have to be the album's opener, "Elusive", the album closer, "For a Brighter Death" and my personal favorite, "Under Her Wings".

To sum things up, this is by far not my most favorite doom record, but I feel there is enough good things about this record to make it worth your time to give it a serious listen and add to your doom collection! There is far more, good that outweighs the bad. If you like bands such as Draconian, The River, Warning, Remembrance or say Shape of Despair then this might be worth your while to go out and purchase.

Cheers and doom onward!!!

Doom metal genre made its popularity through good atmosphere and making bad mood looks good became its trademark. For all those human beings that like this bad mood, Lethian Dreams may offer something of interest. I have discovered this band by searching for some good melodic doom/death, something that would resemble Saturnus and Officium Triste, and for the time being I am satisfied with this band although it is very different from the two mentioned bands. On the good side, they sound very original. Its all about the atmosphere - sad, gloomy, desperate sounds fill the room with the first tones of the Bleak Silver Streams. You can feel what the word depressed means. Melodies have only one purpose - to express deep inner pains and struggles which just wont come out. For all those people that like that sort of music, this is a real thing. If you don't like melodic doom and good atmosphere metal and expect strong heavy sound, don't bother to even try.

Vocals are what makes this album going. Sad female voice of Carline van Roos is dominant and makes stronger impact than growling male vocal (which is by the way also good). Combined female singing, death growls and recitals make them a typical atmospheric doom metal band; originality comes with the way they do that. Guitars are slow, heavy and several guitar solos show that guitarist really know what they are doing. Drums are on the other hand uninteresting and I think that if they were missed on this album that no one would notice that. However the overall impact is good, the intended atmosphere is created and listeners can participate in the inner struggles of the band.

Now, the bad part. Despite the good, I would dare say minimalistic melody, this album remains in a way monotonous. If you are not into doom moods, this may prove irritating. Song 'For a Brighter Death' stands out as a little different than others, but even with that song I say 'little'. It is a shame that after all that good effort their songs resemble each other that much. From 'Elusive' to 'For a Brighter Death' you have a feeling that you are listening for the same song. Changes come (yes there are variations in their songs), but they are as much part of the songs itself than of the album. This is why I don't regard them as 'one of the best' of the genre.

Nevertheless, for all lovers of the atmospheric doom genre I would recommend this album as something that definitely have to be heard. Bleak Silver Steams has its catch.