Blackbriar - "A Dark Euphony"
A classic blend of Symphonic and Gothic
Blackbriar is a burgeoning force in the Symphonic/Gothic Metal scene. Hailing from the Netherlands, this six-piece band toes the line between Rock and Metal, blending Alt Metal with Symphonic and Gothic elements. A Dark Euphony is their sophomore album.
The compositions on the album are generally pretty deep and competently layered. Most of the songs here scratch the wall-of-sound itch pretty well for me. They’re also tonally dark, which feels like a promise fulfilled, given the cover art.
Vocalist Zora Cock’s semi-operatic soprano feels rather typical for a band in the Symphonic/Gothic Metal space, but her vocals are still gorgeous, throughout. The band isn’t breaking any new ground, but they still sound very good. Of course, her vocal style also feels like a hindrance on some tracks, as she very frequently leans legato, and this makes her vocals much stronger on the band’s slower tracks (generally).
“Cicada” breaks that trend a bit, as her lyrics and vocals match up a bit better with the song’s rhythm. This song, which is track 6 of 11, also marks a qualitative turn in the album. The songs that precede it are good - competent exemplars of the standard genric sound for both Symphonic and Gothic. But “Cicada” sees the band really beginning to build on it and embellish it further.
The second half of the album is a clear step up from the first, with each track finding some new way to truly distinguish itself from the rest of the album. That said, there are no bad songs here. Fans of Symphonic and Gothic sounds will find plenty to love, even in the first half.
Lyrically, each song features some element of folklore or mythology – usually something dark. “An Unwelcome Guest” is about sleep paralysis; “Spirit of Forgetfulness” is about the River Lethe, or its spirit; “My Soul’s Demise” features the old practice of ‘sin-eating’. Wendigos, Cicadas, Thumbelina, and the novel Rebecca all make appearances, as well. And in most songs, the lyricism is beautiful.
There is no direct throughline holding the album together; rather, the album functions as a compilation of dark mysticism in the form of beautiful songs – “Euphony” means “the quality of being pleasing to the ear”. In this sense, the album’s title feels a bit like horn-tooting, but they aren’t wrong. Especially with several of the album’s best tracks: “Cicada”, “We Make Mist”, and “Thumbelina”.
A Dark Euphony is incredibly enjoyable, and the uptick in quality in the second half has given me pause on rating it three times in a row now, so I’m going to need more time with it to make up my mind.
Rating: Teal Blue