This French band plays orchestrated black goth, and is tailor made for Cradle of Filth fans. The cover art says it all, they are not very original, but the great production makes it worth listening to.

I have known about this band for awhile but had never had any desire to listen to them so I can not compare New Obscurantis Order to their two previous releases. The vocals are not bad and the symphonic aspect is under control for the most part. It does have a pseudo-majestic feel that makes me think of 1940’s cartoons. The whirlwind pace is heightened by the synthesizers and the vocals never stop, as if they are afraid to go long without them because they might have to slow down. This album is supposed to be darker than previous releases. I find it light and theatrical, not really dark at all. The shouted vocals don’t give a dark feel either, but there are some ominous sounds throughout. With their cover of Solitude, they prove Candlemass songs do not work well with screamed vocals or with that gothic whine. It is nice to see a band covering Candlemass, but mutilating it and still putting it on the album doesn’t work for me.

Overall New Obscurantis Order is a strong performance and fans of the genre should like it well enough to overlook it’s faults. To goth fans there may not even be any faults.

[Visit the band's website]

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