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I'm not really sure what this is trying to be, or who it is supposed to appeal to. The Vision Bleak have put out 4 albums, which means they must have some kind of appeal, but I guess I'm not getting it. This is billed as "Gothic" metal, which I guess means "generic with mopey vocals". The album starts out with a loooong and very boring intro of the bandmembers intoning poetry, but then things kick up a little with "Descend Into Maelstrom". The riffage on here is heavy enough, but purely rhythmic, with almost no subtlety or melody, just bar-chords and chunking. The keys add a little mood, but not much. Vocals are a kind of sotto-voiced intonation, reminiscent of Rammstein or other awful bands of that ilk. Combined with the staccato and uninteresting riffs, it creates meaningless music that is not sad enough to appeal to emo fags, but far too shallow to interest genuine metal fans. Tedious.