On Set Sail To Mystery, THE VISION BLEAK's fourth album, the two musicians once again demonstrate their craftsmanship. Sticking to the album's title one could say that THE VISION BLEAK sail mostly in known waters and take the listener on a journey through the predecessor albums. Set Sail To Mystery contains dark rocking songs, heavy and chewy Doom passages and even Black Metal influenced fury. So far, so good…
But what rankles me a big lot is the superior quality of the opener A Curse Of The Grandest Kind. I have rarely listened to such a fantastic dark orchestrated piece of classical bombast. Enriched by quotes from Lord Byron, this song is a nearly unbelievable perfect intonation of horror put into a form of music.
However, unfortunately at no point does Set Sail To Mystery reach this high level again. Despite coming close to this with the slowly hulking and up conjuring I Dined With The Swans and He Who Paints The Black Of Night, which starts with really storming guitars, the opener leaves me in constant expectation never to be fulfilled. Put at the end of the album, this track would surely have crowned it.
Apart from this slightly negative aftertaste, Set Sail To Mystery once again surely is obligatory for any fans of eerie and dark metal, who like to see the term "gothic" being occupied by visions of darkness, haunted castles in a stormy night and cozy blood-curling dread, than by sadness, depression or world weariness.