Customer Reviews

A Whisper of Dew

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

 

 

A Whisper of Dew, Mandragora Scream's follow-up to 2001's Fairytales from Hell's Caves is a very refreshing listen to those looking for something in goth metal/rock besides yet another Lacuna Coil clone. Morgan Lacroix, founder and lead singer, has a very beautiful voice, but agressive as well. She does not sound like Sharon den Adel (Within Temptation) or Cristina Scabbia, but has her own unique voice that blends perfectly with the band's sound. The music is a very interesting mix of metal, dark wave, goth, and pop (it works here, don't run in terror from the evil "P" word). Mat Stancioiu (Labyrinth) sits in on drums and does a fantastic job. The lyrical subject is based on the vampyric works of Julio Angel Olivares Merino. Morgan composed her own lyrics based on these works for the album, and are definatly worth taking note of. In all, this is a very unique album in the goth genre and is highly reccommended for fans of Epica, After Forever, Lacuna Coil, Within Temptation, Nightwish, or Sirenia.

I recently received a copy of Mandragora Scream's "Whisper of Dew" from a friend. Up until now I had never heard of them. When I first started listening to the album, I thought I was listening to some Enigma clone in the beginning of the cd. "Silent Lullabies" (my favorite song on the album) has that same haunting ambient sound that is quite similiar to Enigma. But as the song progresses, the music takes on a more goth/darkwave sound. "A Vision They Shared" is another favorite song. This is one of the rare moments when the band picks up the pace. The sound is a good mix of metal and goth. Same with "Velvet Eyes". I love the opening guitar riffs. The dual vocalists of Morgan Lacroix and Terry Horn were a nice combination. Their vocals complimented each other's very well. Too bad there was more of Morgan and not enough Terry because Morgan'singing often got on my nerves. The production also could have used some improvements. The production wasn't muddled but it certainly was lacking. Bands like Nightwish and Lacuna Coil puts out albums where the production is in your face and gives the band's music an extra oomph to their sound. "Whisper of Dew" doesn't have that energy that "Once" or "Comalies" has. Mandragora Scream isn't a bad album but it certainly isn't one of the better goth/metal hybrid bands out there.

Curiosity greatly piqued I pretty much bought this on a whim, and also because I scored a good price on a used 'like new' copy given 'A Whisper Of Dew' is presently out of stock. I was under the impression that Mandragora Scream was in a similar vein as Within Temptation since they kept coming up in my recommendations after recently purchasing something by them but, in most aspects, their musical styles and lyrical prose are pretty far off. They're not even in the same class of excellence. Sure, if you enjoy Within Temptation you'll likely appreciate Mandragora Scream as well but their quite different bands all around. Within Temptation is basically in a league of their own, and while Mandragora Scream is rather good, based on this album alone they don't hold a flame to the brilliance of WT. But still, Mandragora Scream has some very nice attributes to offer the often stagnant Gothic-metal scene and have proven, to me anyway, to be a promising group that I'll definitely be watching out for in the future. They fuse an interesting hybrid of Goth, metal, atmospheric darkwave and a touch of prog with vocalists Morgan Lacroix and Terry Horn trading off singing parts (Morgan being in the forefront)...

The biggest problem I have here is the spotty lack of energy (the songs oftentimes seem uninspired), and the lingering intros and outros bleeding into each song aren't necessary, in my opinion, but they certainly shine on tracks such as "Silent Lullabies", "A Vision They Shared", "Close Every Door", and "Crow's Love" - the latter two reminding me of pieces composed for a Gothic rock opera for Broadway or something (or maybe it would be better suited in Las Vegas?).

All in all this is worthy of owning, but only for a reasonable price.

{As a side note: The album's concept is inspired by the book "A Whisper Of Dew" by Julio Angel Olivarcs Merina}

another cd from this great band. this is by far one of my favorite cd's. some of the best music i've bought in years.