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REVIEW: Mandrake - The Balance Of Blue Greyfall Records, 2005
6/10
Mandrake - The Balance Of Blue - cover art Gothic metal is not one of my favourite styles, frankly. That is not reason to not appreciate some interesting bands that may appear in the scene. Mandrake is gothic metal, pure gothic metal to be exact. From the cover art, strongly devoted to Tristania (the use of blue tones, portrait of the cute girl in a nice pic and stance...), to the sound itself, this band follows the same path that other bands of the genre, namely angelic female voice, accompanied by a guy singing in some passages, strong guitars that strum monolithic notes creating easy harmonies in order to underline the highlight of the band –Birgit´s vocals and the keys. Influences? Of course Tristania, Orphanage, some The Gathering -the “Mandylion”era-. In this case, the duets between the girl and the boy are not numerous. Own traits? Well, I don´t find many, honestly. Well, something that caught my attention were the parts where the band resembles a softer version of Fear Factory with female vocals. Believe it or not, the mellow whispering of the guy could remind of Burton C. Bell, and the sound those times is in the vein of the most ambiental parts of Fear Factory. Is it maybe just a product of my twisted mind? Anyway, it has been said. Feels like everything this band plays has been heard before and many times, too. So I don´t think “The Balance Of Blue” gives you great times of joy except if you´re a gothic metal freak devouring emotional gothic stuff with female voices and so on. There´s nothing awful in here; it´s just one more album in the scene...

written by Fjordi

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» Mandrake band details
Tracklist
1. The Necklace
2. Ode To The Outside World
3. Crawling Waves
4. The Field Of Sacred Flowers
5. Silent Tears
6. Balance Of Blue
7. Infant Sorrow
8. Turn The Page
9. Falling Away
10. Crowned With Leaves
11. It Never Ends
12. The Final Chapter

Playing time: 52.03

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