Customer Reviews

Lust Stained Despair

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This doesn't really sound like Poisonblack, probably due to Ville taking over vocals... which isn't a bad thing for a huge Sentenced fan like myself. However from a purely Poisonblack perspective, I find "Escapexstacy" to be a superior release. If you're looking for something a bit more like that one, I'd recommend "Songs for the Sinners" by Charon featuring the same singer.

That said, "Lust Stained Despair" is a strong release. The tracks that stand out most to me are "Love Controlled Despair", "Rush", "Raviotar" and "The Darkest Lie". I was a bit put off initially by the first track, "Nothing Else Remains". This is the worst track on the CD in my opinion, although it isn't a bad song on it's own per se. I'm giving this one 4 stars. It's very good, but I'm left feeling a little... Hollow as Poisonblack once put it.

Though many of the bands compared to H.I.M. sound similar, Poisonblack does separate itself a bit in the fact that the songs have enough interesting things in them that I still listen to the album regularly a year later. They sound much more like Charon, which seems to have a stronger following, but at least the album "The Dying Daylights" doesn't last as long (for me) as does this record. There is a more diverse range of tempos compared to that Charon record and the guitar solos stand out much more. Not quite as dark sounding as Charon, but they sound more like Ozzy and Sabbath at times, which I like alot.

Two types of albums I give 5 stars to: Ones that are very blazingly new sounding, or albums that I can still listen to a year later. This one is the latter.

This is everything that their previous CD wasn't. A great gothic rock release. I'd heard alot about them over the years, but was just alittle dissappointed when I got "escapexstacy". It was too 80's soft rock. It didn't challenge. I still liked it though.

THIS CD has alot more of a harder groove, and the songs themselves are catchy and razor-sharp. The vocals are a great improvement. I anticipate many plays in my car stereo.

This new Poisonblack album does have a lot in common with Sentenced's last cd. Mostly due to Ville Laihiala taking over vocals, but also because the music sounds a lot more like the Northernmost Suiciders than, lets say, HIM. Great guitar riffs, leads and raspy, yet melodic vocals. This disc is for those of us who like the Finnish goth metal style, but without those annoying femme falsetto vocals and the pretty boy emo-image. Thankfully Poisonblack is picking up where Sentenced left off. All the songs on this disc are great, but Soul in Flames and The Darkest Lie would have to be my picks for the best. I liked their debut, but this is a huge step forward. Very highly recommended.

Tracklist:

01. Nothing Else Remains
02. Hollow Be My Name
03. The Darkest Lie
04. Rush
05. Nail
06. Raivotar
07. Soul in Flames
08. Pain Becomes Me
09. Never Enough
10. Love Controlled Despair
11. The Living Dead

The title says it all. This is mostly dark, power metal in the same category as Sentenced. I know V. Laihiala was that bands singer, but he should stick to writing and playing those awesome heavy groove laden riffs like the debut cd Escapexstacy. His raspy vocals do not, in my opinion, convey the lyrical content he has written. The lyrics are in the same line as that first cd, and there are moments like "Raivotar" that show why his debut was awesome. Bring back the original band, re-record this (J. Kukkonen and J.P. Leppaluoto are part of the soul to that first release) or give me my money back. There is some great playing here, and the artwork is great. If you like Sentenced, raspy vocals do not bother you, and cannot get enough of lead guitar licks from times past.....then by all means buy this. But this, to me, is not Poisonblack.

Great sounding band with all the dark undertones and heavy riffs I could ask for, cant wait for their next album.

This is by far one of my favorite albums by Ville even through Sentenced which had alot of awesome records themselves. The dark gothic polished sound mixed with Ville vocals and guitar playing with hidden sounds of Sentenced sounds amazing. From the first song to the last nothing but pure pleasure for the ears.
If you happen to like their first album with Charon voalist you will not like this album. A little more tempo and dark ridden guitar riffs with underlying moody keys and Ville's scratchy low melodic vocals will upset previous fans. But Ville pulls off an album that they might not be able to top. It would be awesome if he could but it will be very hard.
I can't stop listening to this album, and can't find anything better.

I really like this album. Metal heads have a bad tendancy to sub catagorize everything and if it isn't in a sub category then they hate it. Well this is like that it's just a Metal CD not too light not to hard. Just good guitar and drum work with good vocals and good songwriting.

Remove the vocals and the style is there. It is unmistakenly Poisonblack. But add the vocals (no longer those of Leppäluoto) and what we once knew as Poisonblack is gone.

This CD has some great guitar work and some catchy riffs, but Leppäluoto's voice is what made the first CD so great. Now we have Poisonblack style with Sentenced vocals -- it's just not the same.

Well, I knew it wasn't going to be the same with Ville on vocals. I don't like Sentenced, so I hoped he would emulate Juha-Pekka Leppäluoto's voice. He didn't. It bugs me. Knowing this, I tried to get into Charon (J. P.'s voice is what I adore about Poisonblack). However, Charon's songwriting isn't dark enough to support J. P.'s voice! So, unfortunately, "Escapexstacy" is all that appeals to me from this group of Finish artists. This one was a disappointment, sonically. I love the lyrics, but I miss the powerful vocals.