This duo from France (though Carline van Roos sounds as Dutch as Gouda cheese) recently released their debut CD through the interesting Israelian Total Rust label. I missed their 2005 demo called (“Among Lost Illusions”) but what they are offering on this debut album is more then worthwhile…
It is all not totally breathtaking or renewing on whatever aspect, yet it has been executed rather interesting and well-balanced. Their (funeral) doom is reminding me a lot of bands like Swallow The Sun, Officium Triste, Pantheist and Shape Of Despair, which is, of course, nothing but a compliment. But that also means that they haven’t got a lot of an own identity to get their own score with. And the always slow-mo kind of funeral doom doesn’t add to the variation either. Yet, it must be said that the melodies and the overall arrangements are nothing short of very professional and well composed. The variation is length of the songs (ranging from over ten minutes to just over one minute) is something that keeps the listener interested throughout the whole album. It might not have the level of the aforementioned bands but it surely has got the right potential. Let’s say there is enough room for improvement but their brand of heavily orchestrated funeral doom is something that allows the band to progress. All in all this is a very nice debut album of a promising band!
