The Rain I Bleed – Narcissist

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Advertising itself as featuring Jonas Kjellgren of Scar Symmetry and the almighty Jeff Loomis of Nevermore, you would not be blamed for thinking that Narcissist – the debut album from The Rain I Bleed – would be a lead-guitar driven progressive melodeath extravaganza. Alas, it isn’t anything of the sort, though certainly it isn’t without its merits. The Rain I Bleed are in fact a female-fronted metal band from Greece, taking some musical cues from mid-period Within Temptation and, dare it even be said, Evanescence. The album has three major strengths going for it. First of all, this is an excellently produced album for the most part. There are perhaps some drawbacks, such as singer Mina’s voice being fairly low in the mix, but this gives the album’s instrumentation time to shine. Which leads to point 2: for a female-fronted metal album, this has excellent guitar-work. There’s the obligatory keyboard and electronic elements that feel standard for this genre, but there’s also some noticeably great – albeit perhaps slightly low key – guitar on display. This, perhaps, is where the album’s guests are involved. The third point is vocalist Mina’s voice, which isn’t particularly flashy but has a certain eloquent charm to it, comfortably fitting with the rest of the band’s music without overpowering it. Despite this, her voice sounds strong rather than timid, which is always a good thing. The style of music is nothing too original but in many ways is a classic interpretation of the gothic/symphonic sound, and as such is likely to prove an instant hit with most female-fronted metal fans. The album isn’t entire perfect, and it is rather clear that the album is a debut that hasn’t seen the band develop their own identity, but this is otherwise an excellent introductory effort.

Written by James Donovan
More: 2011, Albums, Female-fronted, Quick.Play Reviews, The Rain I Bleed