Mandrake The Balance of Blue
GreyFall Records GF004 March 14th, 2005
By Jason Jordan
Mandrake is a band most noticeably in the vein of Lacuna Coil. That is, theyre a female-fronted outfit with a penchant for some edginess. But, as the good Lord would have it, Im not a fan of either aforementioned group. The Balance of Blue is essentially either an attempt at cashing in on a current trend, or is just an album devoid of inspiration. You decide.
There should be no dispute as to the style youre going to hear upon the commencement of The Necklace. The clean, female vocals are well performed, and float around ghoul-like from start to finish. I prefer the vocalizations of Turunen (Nightwish) and Scabbia (Lacuna Coil), but thats really a trivial gripe. Ode to the Outside World is a sappy composition that utilizes piano and synths. By the way, any song that contains the words sick and tired is going to be cringe worthy. Crawling Waves has an exploratory feel in place, and reminds me of one of the interludes from Symphony Xs V; clean, male vox are first heard here, and manage to be completely weird-ass. Frankly, the music doesnt get much better on The Field of Sacred Flowers (wha?), Silent Tears, or Balance of Blue. Even though I was only halfway through the disc, my attention began to fade. I finished it, mind you, but it was perhaps a more arduous task than it shouldve been.
Mandrake arent ostentatious, though The Balance of Blue just feels contrived and vastly premeditated. The slew of female-fronted bands arent too different from this, and fans of aforesaid bands will probably embrace Mandrake with no qualms. I wont embrace them, however. Well, maybe the lead singer but no one else!
6/10
Official Mandrake website
Official GreyFall Records website
GreyFall Records GF004 March 14th, 2005
By Jason Jordan
Mandrake is a band most noticeably in the vein of Lacuna Coil. That is, theyre a female-fronted outfit with a penchant for some edginess. But, as the good Lord would have it, Im not a fan of either aforementioned group. The Balance of Blue is essentially either an attempt at cashing in on a current trend, or is just an album devoid of inspiration. You decide.
There should be no dispute as to the style youre going to hear upon the commencement of The Necklace. The clean, female vocals are well performed, and float around ghoul-like from start to finish. I prefer the vocalizations of Turunen (Nightwish) and Scabbia (Lacuna Coil), but thats really a trivial gripe. Ode to the Outside World is a sappy composition that utilizes piano and synths. By the way, any song that contains the words sick and tired is going to be cringe worthy. Crawling Waves has an exploratory feel in place, and reminds me of one of the interludes from Symphony Xs V; clean, male vox are first heard here, and manage to be completely weird-ass. Frankly, the music doesnt get much better on The Field of Sacred Flowers (wha?), Silent Tears, or Balance of Blue. Even though I was only halfway through the disc, my attention began to fade. I finished it, mind you, but it was perhaps a more arduous task than it shouldve been.
Mandrake arent ostentatious, though The Balance of Blue just feels contrived and vastly premeditated. The slew of female-fronted bands arent too different from this, and fans of aforesaid bands will probably embrace Mandrake with no qualms. I wont embrace them, however. Well, maybe the lead singer but no one else!
6/10
Official Mandrake website
Official GreyFall Records website
