Fright Night – “The Play of Pain” (2010)

Label : Jetnoise Records/Ravenheart Music 

Review by Tony Cannella

Judging by the band name and song titles it is pretty easy to discern in which genre the Russian band Fright Night falls in. This is Gothic metal at its most Gothic. And well played Gothic Metal at that. Their debut album is titled “The Play of Pain” and it features some epic and dark tunes that should please fans of Gothic music. Fright Night features the duel male/female vocals of Alexey Ovsiyenko and Marianna Lukianova (she also plays guitar on the CD). Alexey’s vocal style is deep and quite Gothic sounding. At times he reminds a bit of the lead singer from Moonspell and Marianna contrasts that style with her clean vocals. Throughout the 10-song 59-minute CD, “The Play of Pain” showcases their atmospheric style, and slow deliberate pacing of the songs. “His Death” sets the tempo for what is to follow; the tempo certainly does not speed up much from this point on. “The Letter of the End” and “The Blood” both over 7-minutes long are two highlights. The band gets points from me for covering the Uriah Heep track “Rainbow Demon” (anyone who pays homage to the mighty Heep is okay in my book). Another interesting track is the 8-minute “Christopher Lee”; the lyrics to this one are not really sung, but spoken by Alexey with Marianna providing support on background vocals. The tempo to this track is slow and hypnotic. Other highlights include: “The Summon”, “We Will Go” and “Two Roses”. This is definitely one that needed to grow on me and after each listen I found myself enjoying “The Play of Pain” more and more. This is definitely not commercial music but it is perfect for a dark and stormy night. Just light some candles and enjoy.

Rating – 83/100

Tracklist

1. His Death
2. The Letter of the End
3. The Blood
4. The Summon
5. We Will Go
6. Rainbow Demon
7. Two Roses
8. The Cross and the Pyre
9. Christopher Lee
10. Black

Line Up

• Marianna Lukianova – Guitar, Vocals
• Alexey Ovsiyenko – Vocals
• Irina Lebedenko – Keys
• Nikolay Shevelev – Bass
• Vadim Mironov – Drums

Links

MySpace * Site