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Band: Florian Grey
Album title: Ritus
Release date: 18 May 2018
Label: Echozone
Tracklist:
01. Bluecifer (We Out Here)
02. Until We Go Down
03. Bereft
04. My Babylon
05. Growing Colder
06. Glimmer (Save Me)
07. Relief (feat. vDiva)
08. Paraphrase (Instrumental)
09. The Unknown Pleasure
10. A Cold Days Night
11. Blood In A Shell
12. Catharsis (Closing Ceremony)
You must have some courage to make and release this kind of music today, as it seems that almost nobody is interested in the softer romantic side of dark rock. Ok, maybe this calls for a revival of this genre that Finnish masters HIM called "love metal", and if Florian Grey will continue doing it this way than everything is possible. In the late 90s and early 2000 we had a real explosion of such bands, mostly with Finnish bands like HIM, The 69 Eyes, The Rasmus, Charon, Entwine, To/Die/For, For My Pain, Shamrain and much more, but since most of this bands gave up or started to create boring as hell albums, there's need for something fresh in this very sector. And here it comes Florian Grey, a band from Germany which debuted in 2015 with the album Gone, at that time as a solo project, which now grew up into the full band and presents a new album, Ritus, which is absolutely a huge step forward, not only soundwise, also compositions, production and everything that surrounds it is one or more steps higher.
It wouldn't be really fair to call Florian Grey just as a mere copy of Suomi dark pop/metal, we deal here with a band on its own, although the influences are clearly evident, yet it's not that simple to put this band into just one drawer. Florian Grey's music has elements that will in the first place attract those who like now disbanded HIM and everything similar, but it's evident that also albums like One Second and Believe In Nothing of Paradise Lost, bands like Poisonblack, Lacrimas Profundere, The Mission and many romantic gothic rock acts had a strong impact on what Florian Grey makes.
Ritus is one of those albums that gets under your skin on the very first listen if you like the style, otherwise you'll hate it as soon as the first rhythm starts to play. This is dark pop/rock with heavy driving guitars, gothy captivating synths and electronic samples, with satisfactory baritone romantic yet powerful vocals and melodic but simple rhythmic lines. I can't deny that this isn't a well done album, everything seems to be in the right place and Florian Grey brings forth a dark rock pop epos taking the listener on a strong-voiced and emotional, but at the same time empathetic and charming trip.
Florian Grey makes music that is catchy, unpretentious, melancholic and simple. Almost every single track comes with an addictive refrain and is highly dynamic to offer an intriguing yet modest easy listening experience. Florian Grey's penetrating and emotive vocals are put into the front alongside 80s inspired synths and dazzling electronic samples that certainly give some necessary depth. In my opinion it wouldn't hurt if heavier guitar lines would be more fronted as it'll add more strenght and power, but ok, tracks like is the driving melancholic opener "Bluecifer (We Out Here)", gothic metal of "Until We Go Down", addictive "A Cold Days Night" and the haunting "Catharsis (Closing Ceremony)" are all tracks worth giving them a listen or two. There are also some striking catchy potential hits like "Bereft" or "My Babylon", but those are not really my kind of thing.
If you think that everything is just about romance, melancholy and softness than you are wrong, Ritus has a lot of groovy and some really heavy lines, for example the heavy "Relief", which reminds a bit to For My Pain or even to Lord Of The Lost. Then "Growing Colder" has some similarities with Paradise Lost from One Second, and "The Unknown Pleasure" has some very intriguing electronic beats that will for sure make lovers of danceable industrial/electro rock scream of joy. But to be truthful there are some fillers and some too mellow tracks in here, but it doesn't really ruin the whole impression.
To sum it all, Florian Grey did an album with imploring lyrics and heavy guitars, in here all the gentle sounds settle a score with the world. Thematically Florian Grey addresses topics and emotions affecting everyone - love, vengeance, hope, pain, devotion. The songs send the listener to the brink of mankind's abyss. Florian Grey must be congratulated to make such an album, it's well done, professional, and if this would be released in early 2000 it would be a classic now, I'm pretty sure. But today, who knows, maybe Ritus will be one of the albums that will gain again some interest into this genre as it has all the necessary nozzles for that.
Review written by: T.V.
Rating: 7,5/10
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