One thing you cannot blame Ulf Theodor Schwadorf for: being in any way predictable in his musical work and career. Since Emyprium has developed from Black Metal to Neoclassic, it now follows something completely different with THE VISION BLEAK.
With the aid of Allen B. Konstanz, the master himself surprisingly turned towards to Gothic Metal, a genre that latterly calls attention rather for its stagnancy than of its innovation. Anyway, The Deathship Has A New Captain won’t change anything in this matter, but for all this the debut album sounds enormously fresh and sort of unconsumed, so that one might like to ignore close references to old Paradise Lost, Tiamat … etc. This album rocks!

Highlights such as The Night Of The Living Dead, Horror Of Antarctica, Wolfmoon, The Grand Devilry and Deathship Symphony get stuck in your mind right after the first listening. Also the instrumental Elizabeth Dane with leanings to John Carpenters The Fog turns out extremely catchy. In addition songs are enhanced with narrative passages and sound samples that recall old horror movies, and sometimes even orchestral passages and classic singing create an eerie atmosphere. So the listener might bear the fact, that riffs in Metropolis sounds like Harvester Of Sorrow (Metallica). Thematically the duo deals with the entire spectrum of classic horror literature, no matter if it’s about werewolves, mountains of madness, zombies or a forlorn rider in the night. The production is strikingly crispy and transparent and goes out of it’s way becoming a permanent user in everybody’s CD player.

A second CD comes with the limited edition, containing a few songs from the album interpreted with a classic (chamber) cast, including pianos. It is almost completely instrumental, though these versions spread a hauntingly beautiful and eerie atmosphere, that captivates the listener. Being not enough, let me warmly recommend the aesthetic visual design. In any case THE VISION BLEAK is one the big surprises this year. With a clear conscience I deeply grab into the score box …