|
|
|
|
The Provenance explores the borderline between Swedish symphonic rock and classic British doom metal with their third full-length album. Somehow I find it hard to take a band seriously when a release is entitled "How Would You Like To Be Spat At" but I will try to set that aside in my review of their latest offering. The title might suggest a rather violent musical landscape but that is far from the real truth as those who know the band from before already realize. The Provenance established a loyal fanbase already with their debut album "25th Hour; Bleeding" in 2001 and they have not changed drastically since then. The delicate vocals of Emma Hellström are still in focus but she is accompanied by the male counterpart Tobias Martinsson who is often not regarded as highly which is not that strange because most metal reviewers are male and they often appreciate female vocalists slightly more. He is doing his job pretty good as well but neither he nor Emma are extraordinary vocal talents.
Sometimes The Provenance remind me of Antimatter but there are also similarities to newer Katatonia although they are slightly softer in general. It is relaxing and depressingly brooding at the same time. The image of a smiling clown trying to commit suicide pop up in my brain while listening to their new album and reading the lyrics. I find their somewhat cynical approach a bit hard to swallow but otherwise they have yet again produced a good, solid album. The Provenance are one of the few younger gothic metal bands who have found an unexplored sonic landscape of their own and even though they have not hit the jackpot quite yet there is hope for a bright future within this genre which has unfortunately stagnated.
| Tracklist |
| 1. WoH II Tsc |
| 2. Heroine |
| 3. Catching Scarlet In The Sun |
| 4. How Would You Like To Be Spat At In The Face? |
| 5. Some Gossip In Stealing A Spouse |
| 6. Going Down |
| 7. Considering The Gawk, The Drool, The Bitch And The Fool |
| 8. Kick You So Hard |
| 9. About A Whore, About A Kill… |
| 10. Speeding To Get By |
: 53.26
| Buy other Provenance, The albums |
