The LoveCrave – “The Angel and the Rain” (2006)

Label : Repo Records

Review by John Davies

I think this band caught a lot of people by surprise, coming out of nowhere (actually Italy) and blowing us away with a fabulous gothic industrial debut CD. This is an incredible release, filled with power, passion and darkness, and some really mean sounding guitars! Vocalist Francesca Chiara has a chilling vocal style that couldn’t be better suited to this music. The keyboard parts are very lucid, and contribute a great deal to the atmosphere. Most songs start off with a low key intro, with softer vocals, but then these killer guitars kick in and Chiara’s voice cranks up and we are suddenly plunged into a powerful, emotionally supercharged aural assault. The first four songs will not only totally blast you into oblivion, but will rip your heart out, although the first song “Vampires” is a little on the lighter side. Song #5, “Fading Roses” is a more sorrowful softer style of song, but then ‘My Soul’ pulls us back into harsh reality, with more razor sharp guitar riffs and gut wrenching vocals. The song “Runaway” is actually suspenseful, and the chorus is to die for. The title track “Angel and the Rain”is a gothic/industrial masterpiece. Do I love this CD? Absolutely!! This band has a brilliant future ahead of them. Get the limited edition digipak if you can. It’s beautiful with nice artwork, and comes with a short story booklet based on the songs off the album. Great production, and the guitars are just incredible sounding.