Customer Reviews

Bleed the Grey Sky Black

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I've been listening to Bella Morte since the days of Where Shadow's Lie, and I have to say that they started to get a little bland once they started doing As The Reasons Die. As The Reasons Die just didnt have any songs that stood out as original and came off sounding like The Quiet Part II. A change was needed to spark some more originality in the band's music. Well, they have made that change big time, because Bleed The Grey Skies Black is a fantastic album. There are several new elements to the Bella Morte sound. For one, the bands is WAY heavier now. The guitar's have been upped a notch or two and now stand out from the Keyboards, although the Keys are still a big part of the album. Andy Deane expands his vocal style to a minor growl/yell on some songs, but still sings in his classic melodic/goth vocals. He is an amazingly good singer. Another big change is the addition of real drums. Their drummer Jordan first recorded with the band on the Songs For The Dead e.p. The drums add a great organic precision to the songs making them more energetic. There is even some double bass on this record! I think long-time Bella Morte fans are going to flip when they hear this record because it is such an exciting and fresh direction for them! This would also be a good starting point for new fans. Its has all the elements of The Quiet/Where Shadow's Lie, but adds a fierce punk rock crunch to the songs. Songs like Ghost Land and On The Edge have a dark and heavy edge to them with killer keyboards and guitar. Torn is great too with a fast punk beat and a killer chorus. The Alone has an awesome dancy sound to it with crunchy guitar. Haunted is a great melodic anthem with shouting choral vocals. There is also a cover of the classic 50's song "Earth Angel", which they pulled off great. I was totally surprised by their choice of a cover song and it further illustrates their varied tastes. This album blows As The Reason's Die out of the water. Bella Morte has become a great Goth Rock band and this album proves it. I also recommend getting the Songs For The Dead e.p. which also has some unique experimentation in jazz/punk/goth/rock.

I didn't listen to these guys at all till I came across their cover of "Earth Angel". Since then I've liked their music so far. I like "Bleed The Grey Sky Black" for a lot of different reasons. first the cover art is great, I think the image eludes to how most of the songs on the CD go. First the intro seduces you into the song and won't let you go from there. From "on the edge", a song about a tormented soul, "torn" a slow then fast song with a killer intro, "the end ahead" a good song that seemed to me a lamentation, "the alone" lost hope, "ghost land" another good one with a mix of heavy sounds, "as the storm unfolds" I liked this one because of it's fast tempo, "an enemy without" great song with some heavy bass, "bleed again" another good and fast one I really liked the guitar riffs on this one, "Earth Angel" great cover, "grey skies black" pounding drum beat, or "haunted" great intro on this one. Great all around CD and worth the price for every song and the cover art!

Take everything that makes dark music good and combine it in one group. What would you get? Bella Morte. Bleed the Grey Sky Black is an exercise in greatness. From the opening track, On the Edge, to the album closing, Haunted, this is an outstanding album. If there is one CD that you get this year this should be it! Not generally for the dance crowd, Punk, Metal and old-school Goth influences abound. What are you doing still reading this? Buy the CD already.

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it would definitely be tough for the Bella boys to top their previous full-length record As The Reasons Die and their last EP Songs For The Dead, but i'd heard samples and a couple full songs online from Bleed the Grey Sky Black before its release, and i was pretty sure the material was Bella Morte's best thus far, and upon listening to the album it was confirmed. with every album they get better and better, every outing brings something new and different to the table and shows a new facet of the band, and Bleed the Grey Sky Black is Bella Morte the likes of which we have never heard before, yet still familiar: harder, heavier, darker (they haven't arguably been this dark since Remains), with more rock and metal elements. it's less "synthy" sounding than any of their previous releases, per se (aside from their two deathrock-styled EPs), which isn't a bad thing at all, and the catchy synth riffs are still there and ever-present as always, combined with amped-up rockin' guitar (courtesy of Tony). drummer Jordan Marchini, who previously only performed at live shows and on Songs For The Dead, makes his full Bella Morte debut here, and he rocks out. there are a couple tracks with drum-machine-sounding synth-beats or whatever, but Jordan is definitely the star here and his skills give the band's sound something it's never had before and pushes the new album even further into the realms of awesome. vocalist Andy Deane even does some dry/growling vocals on a few of the tracks, and also some yell/group vocals too, and while there was a little growling on As The Reasons Die's "Awake," never as much as this and it's frickin' awesome. Lauren Hoffman pleasantly joins the band again for a couple tracks, which is always great. the band also includes their cover of The Penguins' "Earth Angel" on the album, an awesome, almost humorous intermission from the horror and gloom on the rest of the CD. highlights include all the songs, really, this is totally Bella Morte's best stuff. totally solid. pretty much the best album ever, probably. it's all here. get it now!!

Bella Morte Unleashed a stunner on us several years back with Where Shodows Lie, but since then haven't quite found their footing. The Death Rock EP was great, but too short (as EPs tend to be), and The Quiet, As the Reasons Die, and Songs for the Dead all had their ups and downs.

This album, unfortunately, starts on a downer. On the Edge seems to be written with the same feel as the songs on As the Reasons Die, but after it's over, there's just stunner after stunner after stunner. "Torn" could honestly find significant radio play if promoted correctly, and there's definitely single-material elsewhere in the album also.

This is Bella Morte's sad attempt at fame and fortune. The previous albums are much more complex, with meaning behind the music. Andy Deane just plods along with random shots in the dark in his quest for that elusive break. There are some catchy songs and the boys did in fact listen to the fans and release Earth Angel. It's a keeper if you want to complete your collection but it's the wrong direction for the Bella Boys.

I think that thses guys are a decent live band, and they have a reputation for being total gentleman...sadley, not all of thier albums are worth the price of bubblegum. This is one of those examples. It's not that I dissaprove of them getting "harder" and taking things closer to metal. The problem is that this music is just too soft and fluffy. Bella Morte have a Backstreety/Cruxshadowy/babybat vibe that bugs the hell out of me. I wish they would just turn evil and make something more interresting. I find this album to be boaring and highly overrated.