Label : Epidemie Records
Review by Tony Cannella
From the Czech Republic, Dying Passion’s style may be difficult to put a finger on, maybe Alternative Doom Metal might be a good description, then again maybe not. The Dying Passion story begins with their formation in 1995. In 2000 they released “Secretly”. Now they have just released (unbelievably) their 6th album entitled, “Amplify”.
To be honest, this is the first I’ve heard of Dying Passion, so I have nothing to compare this new album to. I can say that the overall musical direction on “Amplify” is dark, downtrodden and doom-y. The lead singer Zuzana Jelinkova is a steady force within the band. She never deviates from her mid-range style, but does add raspiness to her voice on some songs. “Path to the Land of Visions” sets the course straight away and as an opening number it gets things started on a positive note. At over 8-minutes this is also the longest song. “Thousands Eyes” is next and pick up where the previous song left off. Throughout the course of this 55-minute album, Dying Passion very rarely changes things up – tempo wise – whilst maintaining a steady course. The 3rd song “My Friend” is an excellent song and probably my favorite. “Back of Beyond” is also very good. It has mainly an acoustic base, whilst getting heavier at times and the presence of violins makes the song more melancholic than usual. Other highlights include: The 7-minute “See the Bottom”, “Electra” and a “Strange Something”. “Amplify” is concluded with the cool “1/4í to husifky”. There are so many variables to this song, so I apologize if I got any of it wrong (including the title). The song is a heavy, plodding doom-laden track with what sounds like a child’s voice singing in Czech (?). It is certainly an interesting and unique way to finish off “Amplify”.
For a band to be around as long as Dying Passion yet still fly under the radar like they have is quite surprising (or maybe I just totally missed them). I can’t say that I love everything on “Amplify” but it does have some great moments that made a definite impression – especially that last song.
Rating – 72/100
Tracklist
- Path to the Land of Visions
- Thousands Eyes
- My Best Friend
- Back of Beyond
- See the Bottom
- Illusion
- Electra
- A Strange Something
- Two of Us Alone
- ¼ í husifky
Line Up
- Zuzana Jelinkova – Vocals
- Stanislave Jelinek – Guitars
- Dusan Mikulec – Guitars
- Filip Chudy – Bass
- Pavel Vantuch – Keyboards
- Jan Kylar – Drums