#gothic-metal — Public Fediverse posts

I’m on a romantic music kick lately, and who can really say why. It’s always been a flavor that I crave deeply in the music I frequent, but so often that craving is left unsatisfied or only partially sated. But Ukrainian goth rock/post punk quintet Season of Melancholy aren’t about to let me go before giving me everything I want, right? Bleeding hearts, sultry melodies, stories of heartbreak and of yearning, and dark atmospheres supported by bouncy tunes have been a part of their sound since inception over a decade ago. With one LP under their belt so far, follow-up In Sleep promises even sharper hooks, bigger choruses, and crunchier tones. Can they make me swoon?

After a slew of singles to foreshadow the release of In Sleep, a clear focus on accessibility and immediacy sharpens. Bridging the gaps between Mana-era Unto Others, AFI, Dead or Alive, and HIM, Season of Melancholy balance downtuned guitars with bright synths, danceable beats and a sultry baritone that stirs the loins. These are songs that could easily break into the charts but still maintain a dark character, and strategically placed metallic heft helps attract fans of harder music. A few instances of native Ukrainian make an appearance, though I would have loved to hear more as it meshes beautifully with this sound. On the production front, In Sleep is modern—perhaps too polished—and quite loud. That said, it boasts a balanced, bassy mix and isn’t so cluttered with instrumentation that its paltry dynamic range causes too much stress on my ears.

At a tight 43 minutes, In Sleep gets in and gets out, but not without leaving you breathing heavy from dancing all night long first. High-energy romps “Inmate,” “Keep the Night,” “Т.И.Ч.И.Я.,” “Way Out,” and “Down in Rage” bring metallic tones to the dancefloor, fortified by choruses so sticky in the moment that they might pull your shoes right off your feet. Though this material isn’t chock full of shreddy solos or boisterous riffs, pumping chugs and a clanky bass tone still move mountains as they groove and shove their way in between that buttery smooth baritone. Fun synthy incidentals embellish songs like “Farewell Song,” “Ghost,” and “Born in Lies” to offset their more mid-paced amble and create points of interest in spaces that would otherwise feel sparse and unfinished. And, while some of these songs are already a few years old, In Sleep is remarkably cohesive without feeling too repetitive.

That said, there is a strange sense of monotony that creeps in after multiple spins. Avoiding the dreaded pit of self-plagiarism by a thin hair, Season of Melancholy’s songwriting carries a consistent ABABCB structure that almost never shifts or shuffles. There’s a lot a band can do even inside that restricted chain to bring high heat to the affair, and any kind of exploration outside of it brings out more flavor, novelty, and excitement—both things that In Sleep lacks to varying degrees. As such, this record slots comfortably alongside releases from the aforementioned comparison points, but takes the safest route to get there. Consequently, most of the material presented here outside of a few of its best moments aren’t going to make it to long-term rotation.

Still, In Sleep offers good, clean fun to audiences looking for something easily digestible and universally approachable. It’s heavy and chunky enough to earn the favor of metalheads unbothered by accessibility or poppy sensibility, too. However, it’s safe, derivative of many of its peers/influences, and lacks staying power. Were it blessed with more adventurous structures or bolstered by a wide array of hooky riffs or other substantial instrumental spotlights, In Sleep would’ve earned a much higher score. As it is, it’s worth a listen or two and its best songs feel right at home on playlist duty. Whether it goes farther than that depends on the listener, and mileage may vary.

Rating: Mixed
DR: 5 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: Self Release
Websites: Bandcamp | Facebook
Releases Worldwide: September 4th, 2026

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐃𝐎𝐎𝐌 𝐌𝐀𝐂𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐄𝐒
𝐃𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐌𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐥 // 𝐆𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐜 𝐇𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐫 𝐂𝐲𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐏𝐮𝐧𝐤 // 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐃𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐰𝐚𝐯𝐞
-
WE MOVED TO A NEW SPACE - to a private hosting where we won't "violate" someone´s imaginary rules by just existing on this planet.
Welcome!
-
𝘛𝘏𝘌 𝘊𝘜𝘙𝘚𝘌 -
from the upcoming album "𝕋𝕙𝕖 ℙ𝕖𝕣𝕗𝕖𝕔𝕥 𝕃𝕚𝕒𝕣"

https://open.spotify.com/track/3De48W5mgX8kuUmwIi2zdT?si=eedcae969d0740a1

..
#metal #industrial #darkwave #cyberpunk #horror #music #cybermetal #technomusic #thedoommachines #electronicmusic  #heavymetal #darkmusic #gothic #gothicmetal #gothicrock #gothicart #blackmetal #deathmetal #techno #alternative #experimental #electronic #disco #dancemusic #playlist #sound #trance #metalmusic #song #apocalyptic #dark #spotify #scifi #freeworld #freedome #freedomofspeech

Song: Farewell
Band: #Sentenced
Album: Frozen
Year: 1998
Genre: #GothicMetal

"I've dragged myself through the blood and mud
And with burning eyes pushed the love away
No, I'm not the kind of man who'd play for keeps
The enchantment lies in the moment of goodbyes"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyRg0LN7pM8

Full playlist here:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/14jd7IW32OZtlmXiOfz4eG?si=d21fc3d8b391486c
ttps://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAFxPuhOACrVE1yZPBg-3twxbf-xNw012&si=JtFL4Ww40ND5Twsk

Today's music:

ARIA BLAKE - Stabat Mater Dolorosa

https://youtu.be/5SsZA1RlJK4

#metal #SymphonicMetal #GothicMetal #france #music #np #NowPlaying #MastoMusic

Today's music:

”EŠ-ZIL” DazzlingBAD

https://youtu.be/Tqy4Gd0gEzY

#metal #VisualKei #KoteKei #GothicMetal #japan #music #np #NowPlaying #MastoMusic

October Rust tänään 30 vuotta.

#OctoberRust 30 years today.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xD5No_JRrZw#ddg-play

Hesarissa #VilleValo kertoo bändin ja levyn vaikutuksista itseensä ja #HIM:in. Maksumuurin takana, toki.

https://www.hs.fi/popkulttuuri/art-2000012045593.html

#TypeONegative #Type_O_Negative #metalli #metal #musiikki #music #goottimetalli #GothicMetal #klassikko #classic #musadontti #PeterSteele #Valo

Happy #birthday Tarja Turunen (1977)

Ghost Love Score (Live) - Nightwish
https://musiccloud.io/11psqnkn

#symphonicmetal #powermetal #progressivemetal #GothicMetal

When Lord Heikkinen formed Soulgrind in 1992, it was a rough and raw solo death/doom band. He released two EPs and two LPs between 1993 and 1995 for the now-defunct Malodorous Mangled Innards Records before deciding to invite some band members along for the ride. This would drastically alter Soulgrind’s musical direction towards gothic black/thrash, a decision likely influenced by the introduction of vocalist Tanya Lilith. Lilith and Lord Heikkinen remain the only current band members from the 1997 record, Whitsongs, as long-time drummer and sometimes vocalist Agathon “The Beast” sadly passed away in 2022 from cancer. Soulgrind experimented with harsh vocalists until settling on keyboardist Azhemin in 2001, though they still incorporated a vocalist committee for some time. In 2010, Soulgrind released their ninth full-length album, The Tuoni Pathway, before suddenly disappearing. It took sixteen years until they finally found the time and inspiration to release their tenth album, Ad Pulchram Mortem.1

Soulgrind has seen a significant evolution in their sound since the beginnings of their life as a gothic act. Their early material was raw and evil-sounding, with demo-level production quality. The blackened rasps from Lord Heikkinen and Caesar McLaulone were sometimes grating,2 yet there’s no denying a hunger and passion in their music. The early 2000s felt like a period where Soulgrind were trying to figure themselves out, with some inconsistency in identity from release to release. Then something clicked in 2007 with the release of Pakana, and the music grew more cohesive as it began to revolve around Lilith’s melodic touch. The Tuoni Pathway would see this direction improved before Soulgrind’s lengthy hiatus. Ad Pulchram Mortem brings about a mix of the old and the new, continuing the melodic direction of the last two records while still including some of the rough blackened touches of the older material. This sounds like a veteran group that hasn’t lost an edge of its passion despite the long hiatus.

Ad Pulchram Mortem contains gothic touches resembling fellow Helsinki natives Hanging Garden and the melodic black metal of Sojourner. They dabble in thrash on the likes of “Jylhä Metsämies” and “A Whispered Curse Upon the Gale,” as well as Paradise Lost-style death/doom on the terrific “The Origin of the White Serpent.” The deep, grizzled blackened growls of Azhemin delve into a darkness and ugliness that bring a harsh edge to the music—sometimes at the risk of putting off listeners. Soulgrind occasionally gets weird, such as on the sinister “In the Circus of Tuonela,” yet typically the weirdness is offset by the melodic and catchy choruses from Lilith, as exemplified by “Tears of the Earth.” The duo of Lilith and Azhemin proves a boon, as she serves as the foil of beauty to his beast. Her emotionally charged cleans lift the spirits and act as a soothing balm. This culminates in an outpouring of passion and melody on finale, “Into the Shadows of Devotion,” that is simply jaw-dropping.

For a band with a sixteen-year gap between releases, there is, understandably, still some rust to shake out—in this case, struggles with consistency and length. The record generally works better when Lilith is singing, and she sometimes rescues songs that are otherwise just okay, such as “Tears of the Earth” and “As a Narrow Fjord Descends.” Even so, she occasionally has distracting issues with pitch or odd-sounding vocal tones. Perhaps the biggest miss is the mid-album tune, “In the Circus of Tuonela,” which feels out of place with its lack of memorable hooks. The inconsistency goes hand in hand with a need to edit. While Soulgrind has pretty consistently pumped out 45-minute records throughout their career, this one feels a bit YOLO, reaching the 65-minute mark, including an eleven-minute finale. This last song, incredible as it is, would have a greater impact in a tighter package.

Soulgrind write the sort of melodic music that I love to overrate, with choruses that have me swooning and a heavy crunch of guitar and growls that beautifully contrast with the gentler side of the music. Yet Ad Pulchram Mortem feels as if the band was a touch over-enthusiastic, unable to make the edits necessary to create a more cohesive record. In my heart, there is a 4.0 lurking within these 65 minutes. The compositions revolving around Lilith as well as her soaring performance are just too good. Now that they have this one under their (onion) belt, I hope Soulgrind can return to the studio and create another work with this level of artistry, but a little more cohesion.

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 8 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Inverse Records
Websites: Bandcamp | Facebook
Releases Worldwide: August 14th, 2026