THE VISION BLEAK
THE VISION BLEAK "Weird Tales"
By Dr. Abner Mality
Schwadorf and Konstanz have emerged once more from their dark mansions, this time to pay tribute to "the unique magazine", the greatest of all periodicals dealing with horror and fantasy..."Weird Tales". This legendary publication gave rise to authors like Cthulhu Mythos creator, H.P. Lovecraft, Conan creator Robert E. Howard and sci fi master Ray Bradbury, along with other scribes of the macabre like Clark Ashton Smith and Seabury Quinn. I couldn't think of a better theme for THE VISION BLEAK to explore.
Strangely enough, the duo have decided to make "Weird Tales" one huge track clocking in at just over 41 minutes. This is a peculiar choice, as the "mega-track" is still obviously broken up into discrete smaller songs, usually separated by buffers of mellow, low-key moments. These "movements" even have the names of individual songs. I can't fathom the reasoning, but it doesn't matter, because this is the band's best effort since the classic "Set Sail To Mystery".
The album sums up everything that makes THE VISION BLEAK special. There's aggressive metal moments, downbeat Gothic gloom, cinematic movements and beautifully creepy melodies. Anybody who likes ethereal melodies mixed with metal should enjoy this. The way these guys combine both ends of the scale is uncanny. A great example is "Mother of Toads", which has a haunting harp motif superimposed on thunderous dark metal. Delicate keyboard sounds mix with driving, energetic riffs on "In Rue D'Auseil", based on Lovecraft's "The Music of Erich Zann". This has always been a VISION BLEAK trait, but never heard better than here.
I do think there's something of a lull in the "Graveyard By Nyght In A Thunderstorm"/"The Undying One/Evil Dreams Run Deep". which doesn't measure up to what comes before and after it. But things recover really well with the epic "Witch With the Amber Eyes", which is one of the best and heaviest tunes the guys have done...it builds to such an overwhelming climax! The album ends with the MY DYING BRIDE style doom of "To Drink From Lethe". Across the album, the vocals range from deep Gothic croons to black metal rasps and emotive cleans.
These gentlemen are true connoisseurs of horror, with an interest in moody classicism instead of the usual zombies and slashers. The miracle is that they are able to effectively channel that admiration into stirring music.