ALBUM REVIEW: Lost And Serene – Caressing Misery
Lost And Serene, the debut album by American/German duo CARESSING MISERY, is an album steeped in a deep appreciation for all things gothic rock and metal. With both JULIAN AUST and ZAC CAMPBELL having musical pasts heavily entrenched within these styles, a collaboration between the two was sure to produce some impressive music. The pairs first outing as a band certainly showcases plenty of textbook examples of gothic rock/metal, and proudly wears its influences prominently, but it also boasts some extremely impressive and stunning tracks within it that hint that they are tentatively forging ahead with a sound that’s distinctly their own, making this an intriguing opening gambit for CARESSING MISERY.
Swansong Of The Night kicks proceedings off with a generous dose of gothic rock with a subtle undercurrent of doom metal, incorporating weighty guitars, ominous, baritone vocals and powerful rhythms, along with slick melodic flourishes and airy keyboards, making for a strong, though musically cautious, start to proceedings. If this first track bore a slight resemblance to PARADISE LOST, Veins Run Dry embraces a bleaker, symphonic aspect with emotive vocals and minimalistic hooks, straddling the fine line between gothic doom and delicate, grandiose moments peppered liberally throughout, fully utilising the dramatic pomp that is integral to any song with a gothic stripe far better than its predecessor did, creating a vaster, immersive sound in the process.
Giving Birth To Loss, with its thunderous drums, funereal, brooding riffs and domineering vocal, begins to explore death doom, with denser, chugging moments, throaty growls and darker distortion, without losing any of the polish that the last two offerings possessed, providing a great example just how brilliant this style can be. Contemplation Of A Withering Heart, a great, slow-burning effort that strikes a delicate balance between the cavernous depth of the previous number and the catchy, clipped sound of earlier songs, sees an expansive melodicism come prominently to the fore, notably in a hair-raising guitar solo, whilst ensuring that the music is spartan enough to allow the crisp, haunting vocals to take on a central role, providing a sombre anchor around which everything else is expertly interwoven.
You’re The One, an impressive piece of music built upon driving bass and drums, has a huge groove and cavernous undercurrent, with the lighter crystalline guitar tone standing in stark contrast to the juggernaut rumble of the rhythm section and vocals, injecting an excellent classic gothic guitar sound into the mix and, when at their most technical, enhancing this song significantly. A Thousand Seasons takes this reverb-drenched guitar sound into progressive post-rock tinged territories, with a thick metal component bulking out the overall sound, and pairs it with returning keyboards that counterpoint these harsher moments with an ethereal edge which sits well alongside the guitars and the female vocals that start to make an appearance later in the track standing as one of this albums most ambitious efforts. In The Shadows Of Rome, dripping with a classic gothic rock sound and biting, punchy metal touches, is perhaps this albums most vibrant affair, with the hazy, stringent guitar licks and forceful drumming making for a magnificent backdrop for the camp vocal performances which do as much to carry this incredibly strong offering as the music itself and turning this into arguably this records best outings. The Weight Of The Heart continues in a similar, though intricate vein, with hypnotic mid-sections, bombastic musicality and an almost cinematic quality, with the melancholic, confident croon of the vocals capping off an extremely atmospheric and engrossing sound, bringing this album to a head on yet another highlight that shows this band at their most creative.
As a debut album, Lost And Serene is a strong, but ultimately mixed bag of gothic rock and metal. A few of these songs, especially early on in the album are marked by their influences rather than their own distinct flavour, and the clipped, squeaky clean production does lessen some of the impact that these songs could have wielded. However, when these songs hit their mark, they are among some of the best new gothic offerings of any particular strain to come out in recent years, with the final two tracks, along with Contemplation Of A Withering Heart, Veins Run Dry and A Thousand Seasons being particularly fantastic, with the band taking a confident and imaginative approach to the songwriting and absolutely nailing every note. This is an album that is likely to have something for goth fans across the spectrum on it, and it provides a great foundation for their future music, and if CARESSING MISERY opt for the bolder elements that are present here rather than the ones defined by the bands core influences, they will be onto a world-beating formula.
Rating: 7/10
Lost And Serene is out now via The Circle Music.
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