Incarnation of Reality

Doom-gothic is a genre which achieved its peak in the 90s, as many other styles which can be considered extreme in the widest sense of the word. Bands like Paradise Lost established the essence of the style in their sophomore album called "Gothic", which is considered a milestone of the genre. That album, as other ones, influenced heavily an incipient scene in Norway, leaded by the pioneers Theatre of Tragedy and their fellows Tristania and The Sins of Thy Beloved. Unfortunately, the moment of inspiration of these bands didn’t last too much and after a couple of magnificent albums they started to experiment which, in my opinion, didn’t work too well. Since then no bands have even been near to reach that level of greatness, which the sole exception of the Swedish band Draconian, which has released two albums and an EP which have been hailed as masterpieces of doom-gothic. Fortunately, it seems that in Eastern Europe it has been growing a little scene where some groups are trying to revive this kind of gothic metal, free of the awful modern influences. For example, the Russian scene has given us interesting proposals like Autumn Rain melancholy, the newer Amederia and Mirror Morionis. In this case, I would like to review a quite interesting debut from a totally unknown band who released its debut two years ago.

Symphonian comes from Ukraine and it plays a typically 90s doom-gothic metal, slightly more oriented to the gothic side than, for example, the Russian band Amederia, but still with all the classic elements of the style. "Incarnation of Reality" was released by the specialized Russian label Endless Winter, which usually assures qualified doom music, and this is not an exception. The album begins with which is undoubtedly the best tune of all the cd, "Forbidden" contains all the elements that a great songs needs, low tempo riffs, consistent growls, excellent atmospheric keys and pianos and which is the most valuable element in this style, a beautiful, touching and sweet voice by the gorgeous Lana Sokolova. Its rather difficult to find really good singers in this style, because nowadays the scene is overcrowded by sopranos and similar voices, which are great but don’t suit this music in such an unique way as the voices of Liv Kristine, Sharon den Adel or Anneke. Their sweetness was a key element in the "beast and the beauty" concept which lies behind the doom-gothic music.

As I have mentioned before “Forbbidden” contains all the desirable elements of this genre, which are carefully added in a song which slowly evolves through its almost nine minutes length, it also includes a slightly change of tempo, adding some dynamism which perhaps is missed in the rest of the album, or at least in the shortest songs. Though compositions with slightly faster tempo like “Betrayed” are welcome because they add variety to the album, I think that the band reaches its best moments in the “doomiest” and longest tracks, where they are capable of creating an intense atmosphere. Moreover, in these longest songs they add more elements which enrich the compositions, like in the closing song of the album, called "Depressed”, where they introduce a simple but effective organ tune. Elements like longer piano sections, organs and more dynamic “doomish” riffs are resources which suit perfectly well their sound, so a more intense work in those aspects in the next albums would help the band to top and improve the best songs of this solid debut. The entire band makes a great work so the principles for a great improvement are there.

In conclusion, Symphonian has released an excellent debut album with some interesting ideas, and though like in many debuts some areas can still be improved, it is undoubtedly that this band has talent and hopefully an expectable bright future. If they are capable of maintaining their strengths and reinforcing their composition skills, a desirable second effort could help them to gain a greater notoriety in the scene. Doom-gothic is still alive.