Shadows’ Grey – Bonjour Tristesse

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Bonjour Tristesse, the debut album for Austria’s Shadow’s Grey, is a goth metal record with elements of progressive metal. Perhaps concerned that they might be just thrown into the ever growing list of ‘by the numbers’ female-fronted goth metal bands, Shadow’s Grey have tried to do a fair few things in order to make their music more interesting. This includes multiple vocal styles, young choirs, different genres and so on. Unfortunately this doesn’t successfully mask the fact that their music is often rather boring and uninspiring. Vocally, the band uses the tried and tested beauty and beast mechanic. Martina Penzenauer is a reasonable singer and whilst she doesn’t exactly sparkle, she fits the bill fine. The band’s male vocals however are all over the place. At some points they are fine, though there are some questionable “neue-deutsch härteâ€� vocals on Lust. However it’s on the acoustic numbers, such as on The Promise that the male vocals become outright awful. Oddly for a goth metal band they tend to prefer to use their male vocals over the female singer far too often. This is an outright shame as when Martina does take the lead on her own, such as on Worlds Collapse, the record takes a turn for the better and actually sounds rather good. In a bizarre twist, when Shadow’s Grey sound at their best is when they do simple, no frills goth metal. Overall, Bonjour Tristesse isn’t a bad effort, there’s lots of creativity on display, and there are a few good songs in the mix. However much of the bands’ ideas don’t work out, and some are rather cringe-worthy, and the majority of the album feels a bit flat. The potential is certainly there though, so whilst this debut might not be spectacular, one shouldn’t rule them out next time round.

Written by James Donovan
More: 2011, Albums, Gothic, Quick.Play Reviews, Shadows' Grey