MIDNIGHT CAINE
Mirrors
There was a time when the lack of originality and meritorious bands in the goth scene caused some people (myself included) to divert our attention to the musical stream coming from the north. A blunt and icy gothic rock that alternated fast rythms and mid-tempos. Metal epic in the strings, guttural voices and surrounding keyboard melodies. Certainly, among all those Scandinavian currents, the Swedish one stands out from the rest. Midnight Caine, heirs to that sound although with noticeable influences from the nineties classics.
The release of Mirrors (their third album) is a turning point in the trajectory of the band. In addition to a clearly improved sound production, this album reflects the maturity achieved by the band that now manages in a more efficient way its musical resources. They have kept the drama and darkness in the deep vocals, that now sound melodic, more crystalline, offering a wider register (sometimes getting closer to an operatic theatricality) employing the harsh-like ones in a more appropriate sense. Also the electronic layers are more assorted and conceptually fited to each song.
The CD offers direct, rapid compositions, built on metallic, addictive riffs and synthetic dancing grounds such as the dancefloor breaking Living Dead, deep themes of epic character, such as the impressive Mirrors, and beautiful ballads rich in violin and piano notes such as the melancholic The loneliness of a dream.
All of them have their specific weight, as well mounted parts of a lyric, introspective whole, where the existential drama floats over the tormented rock on the back ground. The journey ends with the dream-like and evocative Eremia, master piece of the album, conceived and performed according to the progressive key shown by Fields of the Nephilim in Elizium. Ten mirrors where the best of the swedes is reflected. The perfect codex to find out a gothic rock trend in itself: Midnight Caine.
Review by Billyphobia
- 01. Heavy Heart
- 02. Solitudes Of My Mind
- 03. The Essential Mistake
- 04. Living Dead
- 05. Mirrors
- 06. The Loneliness Of A Dream
- 07. Love Is Lost
- 08. Times To Come
- 09. Shangri La
- 10. Eremia