CoC : Macbeth - Vanitas : Review

Macbeth - _Vanitas_
(Dragonheart Records, 2001)
by: Vincent Eldefors (6 out of 10)

Since the days when only Theatre of Tragedy, Tristania and a few other bands existed in the genre, there has been a real explosion of gothic doom metal in the world, with new bands popping out everywhere. One of the most well known Italian bands is Macbeth who, as the name implies, are inspired by one of Shakespeare's works of genious. Unfortunately, it wouldn't be very nice towards Shakespeare if I compared this album to one of his masterpieces, because the music on _Vanitas_ never even reaches the high standards that we are used to hearing from the aforementioned bands. _Vanitas_ is not a terrible album, but it leaves you without any feeling whatsoever, which is not a good thing. I think it might work well as background music, but that is not what I want a metal album for. The Shakespearean atmosphere is nowhere to be found on the album, but it does have its moments of joy -- very few of them, though. One of those moments is the great sequence of riffs on "Diablo y la Luna" which is a very nice song that shows the best of this band. Female vocalist Morena is a lot more beautiful then the music itself, however. If you are a hardcore Shakespeare or gothic metal fan, then _Vanitas_ could very well be worth your time, but personally I am not very impressed with the result of this band's second album.

(article published 14/1/2002)

ALBUMS
14/3/1999	P Azevedo	5	Macbeth - Romantic Tragedy's Crescendo