Arcane Dimension
In Ecstacy and Sorrow

October 2006
Released: 2005, Independent
Rating: 3.0/5
Reviewer: Gabriel C. Zolman

Superb Gothic Rock/Metal with a blackened, smothering atmosphere that harkens back to an era when bands like Theatre Of Tragedy played actual metal. (For the record, guitarist Jarek played in the obscure late-80’s Polish Thrash band, Astharoth).

In actuality, though, this will prove of greater liking to the Death Rock-loving Cleopatra Records crowd than the average Metal fan. In this sense, the album’s somewhat underground production lends it an authenticity that a slick, polished production would otherwise rob it of.

Vocally, this has more in common with Switchblade Symphony than The Gathering. This is darker than the standard Lacuna Coil clone, but less metallic than the standard Napalm Records act. Guitar-wise, it’s somewhere between Katatonia and Corpus Delicti—but it’s the way these riffs come together that lend it such a crushing atmosphere, and ultimately make it work.

Fans of Inkubus Sukkubus and The Shroud—or female-fronted Goth Rock of an organic nature, in general—will find themselves enveloped in this.