After ten years, a demo and a debut album, Spanish doom metallers Evadne still were without a record deal. Whether it was intentional, or then they've had some bad luck on their fishing trips, it is hard to say. But with 'The Shortest Way' they got one, with Russian label Solitude Productions. However, this sophomore album was released first by the band back in December 2011, and in April 2012 by the label.

Evadne sail murky waters similar to Swallow The Sun's seaway, as well as legendary 1990s English gothic/doom/death (Anathema, My Dying Bride etc.). The songs are more or less long, just one clocking under five minutes (instrumental 'The Wanderer'), and the rest of them between around 7 and 11 minutes. Well, the music's pace is between slow and average. Beautifully melancholic melodies drift above heavy riffing, but the bad thing is, that they are really familiar to what aforementioned band and scene have already served who knows how many times. It simply feels like you've heard it all before, if you know that genre. Something like 'This Complete Solitude' with its many varying parts is a fresher breath blowing some true life into this, as well as instrumental 'The Wanderer'. There are non-distorted or (semi-)acoustic parts, but not enough in my opinion, as the compositions are quite choking. Synthesizer orchestrations are utilized to bring in more melody layers, but are also of "no news" category: Piano, choirs, sweeping sounds etc. familiar for this type of music.

Low growling, that sounds tortured in black metal way, is the main vocals style. Some clean male ones are heard too, but they are abysmal. Without any kind of a surprise, female vocals are here, even though only briefly. Lyrics tell a tale of a couple, and woman is dead. Guy gets really, truly, fucking depressed, and kills himself. It's nice to have a concept album, surely, but it's just same if this wasn't one, because there is no feeling of this being a concept album.

While the album was recorded at an unknown location, the mixing and mastering was handled by Dan Swanö. This sounds simply MASSIVE. The heaviness of the production itself can drive some listeners away! Thankfully, the sound also feels roomy. The drums sound a bit too effected, especially triggery kick drums. This way they simply jump out of the soundscape too much.

The sound is huge, and the songs are at times too long for what they are made of. The album is just too long and partly uninteresting for its full consumption at one take. It could be so much better, but only manages to be too strangling an experience. However, if you're a hardcore follower of this genre, you might fall in love with this, so...

Rating: 6+ (out of 10) ratings explained

Reviewed by Lane
05/25/2012 19:14