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Band: Into The Mist
Album title: Graveyard Of Stars
Release date: 21 December 2014
Label: Mislealia Records
Tracklist:
01. The Day They Die
02. Wail Of The Sun
03. The Crystal Empire
04. Unhappy
05. All Mankind Will Dance Meanwhile
06. HMHNS
07. Instants Of Forever
08. Where The Time Ends
09. All You Did Will Be Dust
10. Out Of The Mist
11. Home Is Where The Heart Is (The Chameleons cover)
Exactly one year after their debut the Italian gothic rock trio Into The Mist returns with a new album, Graveyard Of Stars, and if you enjoyed their obscure, gloomy and somehow minimalistic version of goth/darkwave/post-punk on their previous album then with the new one you'll be even more satisfied. Into The Mist haven't changed that much, but it's most certain that they found their own path, kind of their very own expression, now they dig even deeper into the abyss of obscure melancholic music, and surprisingly they made it even more appealing, tasteful, in a way chaotic and deep if that's the proper word to be used. Anyway, the three guys behind Into The Mist are all very experienced musicians, being active in the scene since 80s in Italy and elsewhere in Europe. And if the basis of their sound remains pretty much influenced by 80s and 90s gothic rock and wave bands, the output on Graveyard Of Stars is still fresh, it has that necessary uniqueness to differ them from many other acts who just try to copy+paste everything related to that golden era of goth, post-punk and darkwave.
Graveyard Of Stars with its eleven tracks is running quite long and exceeds 55 minutes in time, and even if the music of the three Italians is in a way linear it offers enough dymamic sound to keep you focused. Thanks to the nature of most compositions that have an enjoying "slowly buiding up the ambiance" character. And it's a welcoming fact that even though the instrumental side is often minimalistic and dark it really shines when the band reaches kind of a soul-stirring climax with great catchy refrains and uplifting parts. Just listen to the "Wail Of The Sun" or "Unhappy" to point out just at two of them. The melancholic, sometimes sparkly, yet very traditional gothic rock/darkwave guitar lines are perfectly supplemented by reverberate strong bass lines and nicely used gloomy electronics. Everything is toped with MassAnders now even more matured deep and velvety raspy nephilimian baritone voice. Often the resemblances goes to the the early era of The Sisters Of Mercy (for example in "All Mankind Will Dance Meanwhile") and to the most melancholic things that Fields Of The Nephilim ever did (the atmosphere in the short ambiental piece "HMHNS" does evoke those feelings, and just like from nowhere you'll sense something similar to the most decadent stuff that Moonspell ever did laying hidden in there), but like I said it before, they gained some kind of unique sound. Into The Mist can be now compared with likes as Red Sun Revival for example, mostly in the terms of melancholy and melody, but even that's not a completely fair comparison, because they keep the things rather more minimal and the darkwave/post-punk elements are much more present. There are some fillers to be truthful, not bad ones, but the lush ambiances are missing in the opener "The Day They Die", in the rather tedious "Instants Of Forever" and in "All You Did Will Be Dust" where everything gets lost in mediocrity of the typical uninspired gothic rock. The band also wisely inserts some classical instrumenentations, just listen how nicely it deepens the magnificient "The Crystal Empire" and it most certainly blends well into the whole picture of "Where The Time Ends". The biggest surprise on Graveyard Of Stars and in my opinion the stand out track is most certainly the epic, almost 9 minutes long, yet nicely building up and adventurous "Out Of The Mist", where each element so perfectly falls into this palete of dark sounds. The album ends with a nice cover of the legendary 80s British post-punk band, The Chameleons, track "Home Is Where The Heart Is".
The final result is very satisfying and if Into The Mist haven't gained a strong place amongst the biggest names of goth music of today with their debut album, I'm quite sure that they are on the right path with Graveyard Of Stars to reach that. Just like it was with their debut, ITM, also this one needs the listeners full attention and the proper mood to be rightly consumed and enjoyed, it's not an easy listen, but once those foggy tunes grow on you it can became quite addictive. The production, final mix and mastering are solid enough, maybe just a bit more of depth wouldn't hurt either, but that's just a minor thing. Also the whole package is well done and it's one of those albums that must be taken under strong consideration by every fan of gothic rock.
Review written by: T.V.
Rating: 7,5/10
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