Artist: The Mist of Avalon
Title: Dinya
Genre: Gothic / New Wave / Rock
Release Date: 15th October 2010
Label: Echozone
Album Review
THE MIST OF AVALON was founded 15 years ago, two albums later they took a recording hiatus that lasted 10 years. The Swedish quintet set up originally as a classic Goth Rock band but with their new work they wanted to create something that would cast away the imposing and limiting genre bonds. Has their fight for sound-liberation succeeded on their third album called ‘Dinya’? There’s certainly less of THE FIELDS OF THE NEPHILIM / SISTERS OF MERCY influence than on the last one - ‘Here and After’ (2000) - and is less sombre than the darkest and JOY DIVISIONist ambience of the self-titled first of 1998. Though they list similarities of their more indie wave pop songs to bands like A-HA and CHAMELEONS and you can definitely agree to that, there’s DEPECHE MODE fused with THE CURE aroma too within the varied pot of ‘Dinya’.
The songs that are marking stones in my journey through the album are ‘Stay With Me’ with the pleading and epic quality, the female and male vocals accompany each other perfectly, none overshadows the other; the dark guitar riffs and the nostalgia taste it leaves behind another aspect to note and ‘Devil’s Den’, a song which is richly charged with angst and tension and is expressively and empathetically vocalised, the drums really working hard even further to evoke the whole mood to create quite an intense and evocative song. ‘Negri’ stands out for its heavy and dark guitars and atmosphere, a very strong piece where the singing in places breaks through with foreboding and incantatory verses to a chorus that expresses the struggle, which is at the pervading core of the album. On the whole, the sequence of the songs regarding the tempos and the transitions come out as pleasingly smooth and songs fit to each other with good contrasts that will keep you interested to listen on to the end.
All the elements of their music have certainly matured and expanded and it’s good to see them at a different place. Aram Yildiz’s voice has more space to reach his scope and possibilities. And even though they’ve moved closer from the leftfield to the centre, their roots and essence are still palpable there, but where the seeds have born the leaves they now bear fruit. If they only wanted to find a better name! THE MIST OF AVALON’s clichéd paint just doesn’t suit them at all and they should have found something better than that from the get-go. Though of course there is a definite romantic and nostalgic tinge to their music and lyrics, their title’s naiveté of myth-idolisation doesn’t even begin to cover the impression of their work and what they are as a band. Regardless, their ‘Dinya’ offers a wonderful, darkly beautiful and enjoyable listening and they’re worth keeping an ear keen for.
Tracklist
01. Helpless – 5.21
02. Said It All – 5.10
03. Sacrifice – 4.21
04. Tell Me – 3.50
05. I Wish – 4.52
06. The Lies – 4.23
07. Stay With Me – 4.50
08. Waiting Still – 5.58
09. Devils Den – 4.48
10. Negri – 4.28
11. Loosing Yourself 4.18
12. Soul Eater – 4.31
Line-up
Aram Yildiz – vocals
Magnus Ewald – bass
Malin Yildiz – keyboards
Joakim Jonsson – guitars
Tony Lind – drums
Websites
http://www.myspace.com/mistofavalon / http://www.mist-of-avalon.com/
Cover Picture
Rating
Music: 8
Sound: 9
Total: 8.5 / 10
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