FLOWING TEARS - Thy Kingdom Gone
February 5, 2009, 15 years ago
(Ascendance)
Been a while since BW&BK; last checked in with these female-fronted Germans, particularly after they left Century Media. Time was, they slotted nicely between the somber atmosphere of Third & The Mortal, Arcana and Decoryah, but then Evanescence/Nightwish/Lacuna Coil happened. Female bands were labeled “goth” and lost the morose symphonics in favour of bombastics. Regardless, Swansongs, their ’96 debut (then under the elongated moniker Flowing Tears & Withered Flowers) remains a pinnacle in that long forgotten genre. Today, Tears have gone with the flow, ditching the minimalism and opting for shorter, more upbeat compositions. If forced to pick one of the Big 3 mentioned above, Flowing Tears comes closest to the Italians’ current output. Periodic moments of yesteryear crop up: the mournful piano intro of the leadoff ‘Orchidfire’ or the male-dominated vocals on the title track. Unfortunately ‘Miss Fortune’ sounds like a dreary outtake from Cabaret! Pre-recorded bits of religious sermons (a la Evergrey’s monumental The Inner Circle) punctuate ‘Pain Has Taken Over’, the Icon-era Paradise Lost-inspired ‘Colossal Shaped Despair’ and ‘Rain Of A Thousand Years’. Decent, but no longer amongst the realm of the special.
