PlanetMosh Keeping it Metal
“For vengeance and for love” is the new album from UK Gothic metal band Apparition. They released their debut album ‘Drowned in Questions’ in 2006, then in 2009 released ‘Ghosts of The Past’ – a compilation of new, old and demo’s songs. This then is their second “proper” album. The album was recorded at Priory recording studios in England and produced by Greg Chandler (Esoteric singer/guitarist) and mastered by Mika Jussila at Finnvox studios in Finland.
Apparition have had several different singers in recent years, and on this album have Mary Ella. Former vocalist Samantha Smallwood co-wrote some of the songs on the album but doesnt sing on the album as she left before the album was recorded.
Brief comments on a few of the songs..
The first song on the album, “The world of our creation” starts with the gentle sound of waves breaking before the delicate string sounding keyboards come in softly and then the rest of the band kick in with a good heavy sound which contrasts nicely with the keyboards. When the vocals kick in after almost a minute and a half then we’re into the song proper. As you’d expect from Apparition, the vocals are beautifully pure and clear – you’ve got to hand it to David Homer, he certainly knows how to pick good singers for the band. This is a great song and the long running time of it means it has plenty of time to flow and work well.
“Elysium” and “Traitors gate” were both included on the “Ghosts of the past” album in demo form, but sound much better here. The finished versions on the new album have so much more power, sharpness and richness to them than the demo versions and sound absolutely great. Having been part of the bands live set for a while then these are the two songs that most fans will be familiar with already, but here they are sounding the best they’ve ever sounded.
As for the rest of the songs – well you’ll just have to buy the album to hear what they’re like, but I doubt if you’ll be disappointed !
In my opinion this is the best record yet from Apparition, and I’m definitely looking forward to hearing some of the new stuff played live.
“For vengeance and for love” will officially be released on 7th May via Metal Compass Records, but it will be on sale at the bands shows with Sarah Jezebel Deva which start on 29th April.
Rating: 7.5/10
Apparition are:
Mary-Ella (vocals)
David Homer (bass)
Adam Challice/Ian bentley (keyboards)
Paul Collins/Rob Swinnerton (drums)
Owen Hill/ John Yates (guitar)
Track Listing:
1. The world of our creation
2. Beyond the wrath of Ra
3. You can never leave
4. Betrayed
5. The forgotten ones
6. Elysium
7. Innocent blood
8. Traitors gate
9. Just one second
