Label : Bernett Records
Review by Luisa Mercier
After the 2009 EP, “Spiritual Confession”, Evolvent have finally released their debut. They changed their front-woman, replacing her with Johanna Manto.
They have slightly changed their genre, leaning more on the gothic side than the doom one, while the EP was funeral doom with some gothic hints here and there.
The atmosphere is always dark, but less creepy and Johanna‘s vocals are sweet, soaring through the music where the keyboards rule, creating a eerie sound.
I love the way they mix with the doomish guitars, so slow, so beautiful, letting yourself drown in a sea of grey. Listen to “How Come” to get a glimpse of what I am saying.
Johanna shows to be quite versatile in “Refugee” where the usual pure, high-pitched vocals are replaced by darker, more rock ones. The song itself is closer in style to the old Evolvent sound, longer and doomier.
Only in two songs, “Delusion” and “Blades” growls and male vocals appear, creating the classic gothic contrast called the Beauty and the Beast.
A ray of light appears through the notes of the nice, lovely power ballad “Empty Shapes”, but what I want to say is that darkness in Evolvent music does not necessarily mean violece. On the other hand, the darkness means melancholy, sadness, romanticism. You will not find easy hooks, catchy choruses, but it is not a difficult album to listen to, thanks to the perfect balance among guitars, keyboards and vocals.
It was since a long time I did not stumble upon such a good and quality release in the female fronted scene, at least the more gothic oriented. There is nothing new in the way it is composed, sung or played but all of the above it is done very well and you can feel the emotions. Highly recommended for the lovers of old gothic sound.
Rating – 80/100
Tracklist
- Well of Lies
- Under a Bloodless Sky
- How Come
- Refugee
- Empty Shapes
- Delusion
- Evolvent
- Blade
- Adagio
Line Up
- Johanna Manto – Lead Vocals
- Slayin “the wave” – Guitars & Vocals
- Sébastien Latour – Keyboards & Piano
- Marc Canlers – Bass
- Ludovic Rouix – Drums