Calling all gothic metal fans! The Italian gothic horror band Madness of Sorrow has a new album out entitled “Take the Children Away From the Priest.” The album has a main theme of Vatican Corruption mixed with personal views and experiences. There is a definite ambience of doom throughout, each song giving off its own vibes and emotions ranging from fear to hatred to self-loathing and exploitation.
The crunchy guitar riffs are quite catchy and the vocals are very similar to other artists in this genre. I feel like more of a creative approach could have been taken with the instruments in the songwriting process; the drums have a tendency to be anticlimactic at times and the music as a whole becoming semi-predictable. When there is soloing, it’s shorter than you’d like it to be, leaving you wondering what the full potential of the lead guitarist could have been if they had been given more of a time to shine on their own. The keyboards could use a little more variety as they seem to be repetitive from song to song; but they fit with the music and don’t take away from the atmosphere.
I appreciate an album that expresses a variety of thematic ideas and this is one of them. If you can get past the make-up and the borderline modern day “emo” look of the band, the music should be all that matters in the end. This latest release from Madness of Sorrow is not a mind blowing album of epic proportions but it’s a fun, quick listen for those of you out there that have a deep appreciation for horror metal and the gothic music genre. “Take The Children Away From the Priest” gets a 6 out of 10.
Stevie Kopas, HMS
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