Label : Twilight Zone Records
Review by Tony Cannella
The Rain I Bleed is a fantastic symphonic power metal band hailing from Greece. Their debut album is called “Narcissist” and features guest appearances by Jeff Loomis from Nevermore and Jonas Kjellgrin from Scar Symmetry. But really, those guest appearances are just icing on the cake, the real star here is vocalist Mina and some seriously strong material.
The slow, grinding and heavy riff-age of the opening track “The Utter Me” begins this 39-minute disc. Lead vocalist Mina has an Amy Lee-esque vocal style that really drives home the melodicism of the songs on “Narcissist”. “The Day After Tomorrow” is next and it picks up the tempo and the energy, before changing tempos a number of times throughout the song. This is (in my opinion) the best song on “Narcissist”, just a great song that is representative of the strong material contained herein. “Nocturne” is next and starts off with a rock-solid, heavy riff before things quiet down and the vocals of Mina comes in. From there the song gets progressively heavy as it moves along and it just has a killer melody. Other highlights include: “Eternally”, “The Rain Into My Eyes”, “Nightmares” and the ballad “Lullaby”, which closes the album. “Lullaby” is just that. It is a wistful and beautiful song that features only piano and the vocals of Mina.
Musically I suppose the closest comparisons I can make are latter day Within Temptation or Evanescence, but that is subjective; “Narcissist” is good enough to be taken on its own merits. “Narcissist” is a classy debut and one that should put The Rain I Bleed on power metal map. I loved this album!
Rating – 93/100
Tracklist
- The Utter Me
- The Day After Tomorrow
- Nocturne
- Eternally
- The Rain Into My Eyes
- Tearful Eyes
- The Water Turns to Ice
- Nightmares
- Lullaby
Line Up
- Mina Giannopoulou – Vocals
- Nodas – Guitar
- Spyros – Guitar
- Stelios – Bass
- Simos – Drums