Album Review
Dying Passion is a Czech group, easily comparable to the likes of Nightwish, After Forever, and Lacuna Coil, that are looking to etch their notch in this popular brand of female fronted gothic, melodic, and symphonic metal. DP's third album Sweet Disillusions is full of fine instrumentation and does a great job of setting that dark, gothic mood, however, the melodies leave a bit to be desired. The songs are inspiring and they do give the same feel as the aforementioned bands, but not nearly as strong. There is no stand out track on this album that will grab the listener, as lets say, Lacuna Coil's “Swamped”, and “Heaven’s a Lie,” or Nightwish's, “I Wish I Had an Angel”. Not to say that the tracks are not of high caliber, it’s more that there are not as many standout melodies.
Although if you do some hunting, and deep listening, you can find many treasures. For instance, track one has a melody very similar to that of the chorus to Rammstein's, “Spieluh,” off of Mutter. This song has the feel of a typical opener, and it does a great job of setting the tone. The third peice may just be the strongest and the most memorable, now that I have listened several times over. Being one of the heaviest tracks it displays great use of unique instruments, yes you will hear a flute and even an accordion, and you will wonder how this all fits in. Well let me tell you, it is quite unexpectedly good. Other tracks show off more instrumental antics with the use of an epic sounding horn in a waltz style beat, prog-laden intros, bouncier lighter feels that move into piano, and yet again they bring back the horn to display a bit of romance for a ballad song. By around the ninth track we get a really fine guitar solo, and with this easily being the heaviest song many listeners will say, ’finally the album picks up.’
It is safe to say, Dying Passion have a lot of room for growth, in picking and mixing styles, but this is a fine work from them, and the growing success coming from other girl fronted bands of this style will only help DP gain more acceptance.
Although if you do some hunting, and deep listening, you can find many treasures. For instance, track one has a melody very similar to that of the chorus to Rammstein's, “Spieluh,” off of Mutter. This song has the feel of a typical opener, and it does a great job of setting the tone. The third peice may just be the strongest and the most memorable, now that I have listened several times over. Being one of the heaviest tracks it displays great use of unique instruments, yes you will hear a flute and even an accordion, and you will wonder how this all fits in. Well let me tell you, it is quite unexpectedly good. Other tracks show off more instrumental antics with the use of an epic sounding horn in a waltz style beat, prog-laden intros, bouncier lighter feels that move into piano, and yet again they bring back the horn to display a bit of romance for a ballad song. By around the ninth track we get a really fine guitar solo, and with this easily being the heaviest song many listeners will say, ’finally the album picks up.’
It is safe to say, Dying Passion have a lot of room for growth, in picking and mixing styles, but this is a fine work from them, and the growing success coming from other girl fronted bands of this style will only help DP gain more acceptance.
