Alchemists of Darkness – “Laments” EP (2008)

Independent Release

Review by Tony Cannella

Spain’s Alchemists of Darkness are a tough band to categorize. They are a metal band but I’m not sure as to what sub-genre they’d fall into. Their music contains elements of gothic melancholy although I am not sure if it would be fair to include them in gothic category, they have so much to offer.That’s an argument for another day, today let’s focus on their new EP, titled “Laments”. First an introduction of the members: Cristina Morena (Vocals), Manuel Fuentes (Rhythm Guitar), Isaac Salido (Lead Guitar), David Martinez (Bass) and Felipe Martinez (Drums) completes the unit. The band are also joined by session musician Ibiel Berciano on keyboards.  First song “Spirit of Night” gets things rolling and it is a pretty good opener. It starts off with some soft guitar leading us into a heavy melodic riff as the rest of the members come in. The next song “Beside Your Heart” is a melodic mid-tempo number. Right off-the-bat the vocals of Cristina Morena are very like-able. I have to admit that it took me a few listens to warm up to her style but she has an endearing understated quality that you have to love. “Beside Your Heart” is definitely a highlight for me.“When My Sky Falls” keeps the momentum moving steadily in the right direction and this is another highlight. “Frozen Rose” is next and it features just heavy take no prisoners riff that chugs along at a rapid pace. This song takes so many twists and turns and the keyboard bit near the end is pretty cool. “Run Away” is perhaps the best song that this disc has to offer with Cristina turning in one heck of a vocal performance. The final track “Another Day – Letter For A Cold Melancholy” is just a classy tune and a great way to end things. Keep listening after this song ends. After about 2-minutes of silence the CD ends with a pretty piano outro. “Laments” features 6-songs and 33-minutes worth of material that needs to be given a chance to grow on the listener. On the whole I was very impressed with Alchemists of Darkness – I still don’t know if I would call them gothic. My one small complaint is maybe the production isn’t the best but that does nothing to hamper the overall beauty and conviction of the music. Impressive!