I introduced you to the Dutch from 'Blackbriar' in 2021 with the release of their first opus 'The Cause of Shipwreck' telling you that they were playing in the backyard of 'Within Temptation' (who has just released a new album). And precisely, if you are nostalgic for the latter's first albums, for example 'Enter', 'Mother Earth' or 'The Silent Force', their compatriots have just released a second album 'A Dark Euphory'. We therefore find the angelic singing of 'Zora Cock' (which is reminiscent of the beginnings of 'Sharon den Adel' but certainly in a higher register) in eleven original compositions for around fifty minutes of listening.
From the outset, we find this catchy melodic metal with 'An Unwelcome Guest' and 'Far Distant Land' continues on this well-trodden path with an obvious parallel with the first 'Within Temptation'. For this new baby, they put on a great spread since it is accompanied by five videos and I will present it to you in this way allowing you to associate the image with the music: first of all 'Spirit of Forgetfulness' takes us into a gothic chapel for a powerful mid-tempo, then, 'Cicada', on a heavy tempo, takes us back in time to the time of fairies and carriages. We continue with 'My Soul's Demise' which takes us into a strange ceremony in a church, then 'Forever and a Day' is a beautiful black and white video shot on a dune by the sea, and finally, 'Crimson Faces', which ends the album, offers us a final track with an addictive chorus that immediately gets into your head. The other compositions which have not been the subject of a video are in the same style and we can still cite the beautiful ballad 'The Evergreen and Weeping Tree' which allows for a welcome break and in which 'Zora Cock' delivers a very beautiful vocal performance with her high-pitched singing.
In summary, the Dutch from 'Blackbriar' continue their momentum with a very good second album and, even if they do not revolutionize symphonic metal, show that they should soon rise to the level of the tenors of the kind especially since they are now under the German flag with the label 'Nuclear Blast'... | |
