The Vision Bleak - The Unknown (2016)

The Vision Bleak have been faithfully preaching the gospel of Gothic metal for 16 years now, long after the arguable summit of the style's popularity (i.e the H.I.M. and Type O Negative days) has eroded in the wake of other niches. And they've done it with hardly a single mar on their body of consistency. Full-length after full-length of equal parts atmospherics and rocking references to traditional horror literature (up to around the early 20th century) and classic film (a few decades later), dour vocal poetry and a public image that is in turn vaudevillian and endearing. This new record, The Unknown struck a chord with me for abandoning the band's kitsch cover motifs of the past for the transformed, alien vista of nightmares that it promises, and the questions that evokes...have the Germans changed up their style? Are they aiming for some sort of grand Lovecraftian concept?

For the most part, this is business as usual. The somber Sisters of Mercy inspired Gothic rock clad in more meaty, metallic guitars, sent back in time a century or two, with synthesizers and acoustics used tastefully to complement a set of dependable if not always entirely unique chugging and driving rhythms. The Unknown is mildly heavier in terms of drumming, speed and thundering riff structure, at least on a handful of tracks like "From Wolf to Peacock". If the band had changed its name to The Vision Bleak With a Vengeance, it wouldn't have been without merit. But despite its marginal sense of urgency, this disc has a fair degree of variation between it's murkier, Gothic doom swells "The Whine of the Cemetery Hound") redolent of Paradise Lost and the more urgent, aggressive material. Thick palm muted patterns perform a percussion unto themselves while the vocals and guitars drift above them, as if afloat between dark valleys of jagged rock and wolf-prowled pine groves, elevating tracks like "How Deep Lies Tartaros?" to seismic, sodden glories that I wouldn't have expected in their opening moments.

The true calms here are relegated to shorter pieces like the intro or the instrumental "Who May Oppose Me?", but these are all perfectly placed to allow the listeners a chance to breathe after what ever Transylvanian (or Victorian) terror has stalked them through the woods or streets. The vocals of both Schwadorf and Konstanz provide elegant, brooding mantras which assist even the most base of the guitar progressions to hypnotize beyond their due. Instruments are mixed very well. Production is polished, and complexity minimal, but the oblique nature of the lyrics (EXCELLENT lyrics) and note selections keep it from broader accessibility. That is not a negative. This is definitely not an album which has many sugary spikes of catchiness, even by comparison to some of their own past material. The songs all work rather well, both on their own and in unison, but it's the overall mood and imagination of this album that had me absorbed more so than its ability to compose some nuanced riff. You've heard a lot of it before, just not put together quite the way this duo accomplishes it, and The Unknown, while not the standout of their career, is another reminder of how a project's convictions can persevere well beyond the trendiness that might have provided them some grand entrance eons ago. Try and grab the version with the bonus disc, both of the tracks are also worthwhile.

Verdict: Win [8/10] (drag yourself along the twine)

http://www.the-vision-bleak.de/

The Vision Bleak - The Deathship Has a New Captain (2004)

If you're going to create a gothic metal band, there is no shame in going all out, embracing both the genre's image and lyrical aesthetic. For their debut, The Vision Bleak did this in style, molding a campy image which summoned nostalgia for old black and white horror films. Lyrically, the band also adheres to the past, each track a tribute to the roots of horror, old Europe, and human suffering.

It all comes together quite nicely, especially when combined with the band's phenomenal production standards. Each of their albums is brazen, loud and heavy, with more crunch to the guitars than most other metal bands in any genre. Their debut, The Deathship Has a New Captain, opens with "A Shadow Arose"; a nice little narration and some operatic female vocals to establish a cheesy introduction. Soon the crushing guitar tone arrives, and then passes for the haunted house keys that open "Night of the Living Dead", which will bowl you over with its huge riffs and creepy verses. It's a great song for your Halloween costume party, you can mosh it up while you chug all the spiked punch. "Wolfmoon" is undeniably catchy, Ulf Theodor Schwadorf's deep gothic Germanic tones both lavish and horrific, you can tell why this was chosen for a video. Great song!

Oh, young fair maid, did you not see,
the moon is full tonight?
Run -don't walk- from the moorland, flee!
Before he is in sight...
To feast upon thy maiden flesh,
to eat thy heart and soul.
Wolfmoon, Wolfmoon burning bright,
through the forests of the night.

"Metropolis" is a fine, crunchy tribute to the silent classic of the same, and "Elizabeth Dane" a somber tribute to The Fog. "Horror of Antarctica" is an atmospheric, gloomy bruiser which references an Edgar Allen Poe story. "The Lone Night Rider" is a crusher with some cheap and cute synths cutting through the dense riffage, followed by the even harder rocking of "The Grand Devilry". The final track "The Deathship Symphony" picks up the same narrator from the intro and then creates a gothic, operatic monument to celebrate the close of the debut.

So if you hate it is his stage,
he plays the wicked and the wretched
and if you hide you will fail to see
the grand devilry!
He is the poison
in our heart.
The flaming word
in each poets art.

Once again I must re-iterate how goddamn good this album sounds...the tones are unbelievable and every flight of orchestration and cheap creep synth is perfectly balanced. You might think the band is corny, but they are far heavier than other gothic metal acts and the songs are perfect for Autumn meandering thoughts and violent slam dancing. Schwadorf and Konstantz (aka Tobias Schönemann and Markus Stock) really show their experience here from other bands (Autumnblaze, Nox Mortis, etc) and create their most accomplished work yet. If you enjoy this, there is no reason not to track down their later albums as well, which are both very loyal to the vision and likewise excellent.

Highlights: Night of the Living Dead, Wolfmoon, Elizabeth Dane, Horror of Antarctica

Verdict: Win [8.5/10] (cursed to sail the sea of the damned)

http://www.the-vision-bleak.de/