Painted Black – Raging Light

[schema type=”review” name=”Painted Black – Raging Light” description=”Label: WormHoleDeath (Digipack CD)” author=”Basak Günel” pubdate=”2017-11-24″ ]

Painted Black is a Portuguese doom/death metal band. Formed in 2001, the band delivers not only one sound but a blend of different styles ranging from doom, death, progressive and post-rock so many influences are there for sure. After having a few releases in their pockets, the band has released the second full-length record called “Raging Light” last year.

Let me start with the pros… As the band also states, energy and melancholy are two aspects that form their sound and they manage to blend these quite well (although this is not a very unusual aspect when we think about the mix of these genres). You can feel the overall melancholic atmosphere in the record but it’s also dynamic and progressive, the rhythm changes from time to time, creating a diversity. In this sense, the band shows great potential with this full-length record.

The cons, I am afraid, outweigh the pros. With the opening song (and my first spin), it became clear that clean vocals don’t really fit to the sound of the album. In the background, we have a dynamic and progressive melody and in the foreground we have this doom/goth(yepp, goth.. reminded me of Moonspell/Paradise Lost/Lacrimas Profundere.. a weird combination) vocals that lack emotion and that’s where I lost my interest in the record. Clean vocals are great but in order to give that melancholic atmosphere, the vocals need to deliver soul and emotion…Growls, on the other hand, fit very well to the album so the band should have maybe stuck to the growls instead of the clean vocals. Secondly, even if the clean vocals would have fit to the atmosphere, the production is a bit weak; the vocals stand out weak in the songs. Maybe the band aimed to emphasize on the melodies but a better production could have made the record a lot better. However, with this interesting sound and style that the band has, I believe they have room for improvement so I hope they will get to develop these aspects in the upcoming releases.

“The Raging Light” didn’t live up to my expectations sadly but I am sure with some improvements in the dynamics and sound, they might deliver something fantastic in the next record. Let’s wait and see.

Line-up:
Daniel Lucas – Vocals
Luís Fazendeiro – Guitars & Synths
Gonçalo Sousa – Guitars
António Durães – Bass
Filipe Ferreira – Live Drums

Tracklist: 1. The Raging Light 2. Dead Time 3. The Living Receiver 4. Absolution Denied 5. Chamber 6. In The Heart of the Sun 7. I am Providence 8. Almagest

Links:
Painted Black Facebook