Mercury
Rain come out of the UK with a new self released album entitled "Dark Waters".
The band consists of Sonia Porzier (vocals), Dion Smith (guitars), Rich Shillitoe (guitars) , Jon Hoare (Bass & Synths), Andy Pester (Drums).
I am told they are Gothic Powermetal in style. This is a pretty good assessment I think. Very melodic and clean sounding with the female vocals and keys bringing in the Gothic elements.
The production is nice and all instruments ring out clear and nice.
Lyrically the band chooses to use fantasy type stories in all the songs. Dark Waters touches on themes of the seas, mermaids, and warriors in epic struggles to live through the fight.
Stuff we have all heard before in different variations. The music is not too bad but there needs to be some more growth before they make it into the higher ratings. As soon as they get a good groove going they change it into sustained, boring chordal structures that don't do anything for the songs in the way of power. The vocalist is decent but she doesn't have a clue to what makes a good melody or hook. The vocal parts are less than memorable. Sounds like she is speak singing everything and it gives every song a sameness that gets quite boring after the first few songs. The other thing that bugs me is the outdated Roland electronic drumkit the drummer is using. While Roland makes some great drum brains these days, it sounds like he using an older drum brain that is pretty bad sounding, especially the snare sound. I speak from experience because i haved owned Roland drums for years and have had to update my drum brains every so often. I recommend that Andy get himself a V Drum brain to bring it into the 2000's or at least pick some more 'real' sounding patches. His playing is no problem, good timing, good fills, although the songs don't give him too much room for creativity.
I won't recommend you buy the album, because frankly, i think you could spend your money on something better. That is my opinion though and I would ask that if you like female fronted bands like this to go hear some samples and make up your own mind. You can go hear some samples at
www.mercuryrain.com
A young band with a bevy of ideas that just need to be sorted out a bit better and this will come with growth. The potential is certainly there and I for one will keep my eyes and ears open for that album where it all comes togther for them.
Written by
David Tuesday, October 14, 2003
Show all reviews by DavidRatingsDavid: 5/10Members: No members have rated this album yet.
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