Search - Virgin Black :: Sombre Romantic

Sombre Romantic
Virgin Black
Sombre Romantic
Genres: Alternative Rock, International Music, Metal
 
  •  Track Listings (10) - Disc #1

Debut album by the Australian epic Gothic rock band from Adelaide. 10 tracks. 2001 Massacre release.

     
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CD Details

All Artists: Virgin Black
Title: Sombre Romantic
Members Wishing: 0
Total Copies: 0
Label: Massacre
Release Date: 3/30/2006
Album Type: Import
Genres: Alternative Rock, International Music, Metal
Styles: Goth & Industrial, Middle East, Israel
Number of Discs: 1
SwapaCD Credits: 1

Synopsis

Album Description
Debut album by the Australian epic Gothic rock band from Adelaide. 10 tracks. 2001 Massacre release.

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CD Reviews

The Dark Ages with amps
Scott Sweet | Colorado Springs, CO | 12/04/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)

"Virgin Black is the darkest band I've found whose music and lyrics address spiritual crisis without mocking it. While a lot of metal sounds like the heat of killing, this band sounds like an hour later, when we stop and look at the dead all around us. If you've heard Saviour Machine, Virgin Black moves slower and heavier in that direction.



"Opera de Romanci" opens with a cello and Gregorian chant promising darkness to come. "Embrace" makes good on it with a dose of slow metal and orchestration worthy of a film score. Virgin Black strikes a great balance, alternating between "funeral metal" and orchestration. "Walk Without Limbs" starts with a cool beat, like Bachman Turner Overdrive's "Takin' Care of Business". Then it changes gears into an industrial-rock sound unusual for this band.



"Of Your Beauty" finally puts Rowan London's operatic voice in front. His voice and the exceptional lyrics pull the listener into a place where it's always 4 a.m., and Winter never quite yields to Spring. "Drink The Midnight Hymn" jumps out of the speakers with a dose of speed metal and shrieking akin to Mayhem. On this CD and the following "Elegant...and Dying", the songs change speeds and modes often. Samantha Escarbe plays guitar with restraint, valuing the songs over solos.



"Museum of Iscariot" is a three-part suite with a lot of variety, and less intensity than some of the tracks before and after. "Lamenting Kiss" has a semi-industrial beat and an opening chant that sounds like a train siren losing strength with distance. Then London's voice takes the lead again. "A Poet's Tears of Porcelain" is a powerful finale - Escarbe finally busts out some fierce guitar melodies. The metal cuts off abruptly, leaving a brief chanted melody to end the whole thing. The image I get from this album is of someone lying down on a stone altar in the dark, eyes open, and waiting."
Opera metal music is reborn again
"Giles The Axeman" | North Carolina | 10/09/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)

"virgin black is an unbeleivable band i could'nt beleive my ears when i bought this cd and listen to it, iv'e been listening to opeth for the past six months and virgin black is the only band that has pulled me from listening to opeth. new comers trust me don't listen to the 30 second sound clips because theres not enough there to let you know what kind of band they are i recommend just buy the album you want be disappointed, if youre looking for something different then virgin black is the way to start"
Something more then what you'd expect.
Theseus the Glove | New Port Richey, FL | 08/30/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)

"Sombre Romantic is a step up if you will in the gothic metal genre. It is a very solid album from start to finish but has alot of layers that keep things interesting. Its not what you would really consider to be a "religious" album but there are many undertones that help get the message across. This point being made very clear in "Museum of Iscariot" which talks of Jesus from Judas' point of view.



Rowan's vocal stylings change to meet the moods of every song on this album, from low opera type to screaming, in a superb way that stays consistent and never gets old. If you are into relaxed darkwave/goth music this is a perfect album to purchase."