Title: Into the Arms of Chaos
Artist: Whispers in the Shadow
Genre: Gothic Rock
Release Date: 24th October 2008
Label: Echozone
Album Review
Long time no seen…or better heard in this case as the Austrian band WHISPERS IN THE SHADOW around front man Ashley Dayour secluded themselves from the events for a while and silently started working on what would eventually become ‘Into the Arms of Chaos’.
For this purpose they’ve joined forces with well-known producer John A. Rivers and you can hear it. Sound-wise here’s nothing to complain about, but let’s dive into some of the tracks, starting with the epic opener ‘Arrival’, what apt title for an opener, starting with low monk chorals, before the drums, synths and guitars kick in, but even though everything sounds state of the art it’s like listening to classic 80s Goth Rock / Wave sometimes, the atmosphere which is built up here is massive and in spite of its over nine minutes duration ‘Arrival’ doesn’t get boring at any time. With the following ‘Killing Time’ the band turns to a classically arranged rock song without neglecting the atmosphere, if more understated than before, which on no way fails to have the desired effect.
With ‘Neither:Neither’ another, a strange force sneaks in, while drums play a hypnotic, a ritual rhythm which, accompanied by the dark and menacing sound of a organ echoes through a dark and deserted church on a barren landscape and Ashley Dayour is the ghostly priest, screaming out his laments. The only ballad of the album ‘The Nightside of Eden’ breeds nothing but desolation. Rain is pouring down from an overcast sky onto a seemingly lifeless swathe of land, but from far far away you can hear the sad tunes of piano and threnody-mantled strings. While Ashley’s vocals would have made a Robert Smith Smile on the most tracks he now proves he’s able to fairly sing as well.
Now on with ‘The Last Time’ - not the last track - a rather traditional rocker, where the drum section, amidst all the guitar walls and synth sounds, deserves attention with their rousing character. Epic is a word I already used for the opener of the album, but it even more applies to the closer ‘Down By The Sea’ preluding with a sinister sound collage to lead into an almost 14 minutes long track, slowly grinding forward and partly similar to a Doom Metal track. Also here they don’t make the mistake to play the same chords on and on but incorporating a new element here and one or the other tempo shift here as well as varying the riff melodies.
‘Into The Arms of Chaos’ is a successful comeback for WHISPERS IN THE SHADOW which his definitely Gothic Rock in a way, but not of the usual kind and some of the epic sound constructions might scare some people away. If that doesn’t bother you than this should be a record for you, if you’re not sure check out the tracks on MySpace.
Tracklist
01. The Arrival – 9:12
02. Killing Time – 3:25
03. Neither Neither – 5:43
04. The Nightside Of Eden – 4:59
05. Damned Nation – 4:16
06. Babylon Rising (Part 1) – 5:50
07. Babylon Rising (Part 2) – 4:44
08. Confessions – 3:22
09. The Last Time – 6:25
10. Down By The Sea (Intro) – 1:45
11. Down By The Sea – 13:34
Line-up
Ashley Dayour - Vocals, Guitars, E-Bow
Fork - Bass
Martin Acid - Keyboards, Piano
Curt Benes - Drums, Percussions
Website
http://www.noizeart.com/ / http://www.myspace.com/whispersintheshadow
Cover Picture
Rating
Music: 8
Sound: 9
Extras: -
Total: 8.5
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