Poisonblack: Of Rust and Bones (2010) Review

Poisonblack's latest, Of Rust and Bones, is definitely gothic metal. Sometimes it's good to have something you can easily categorize.

This Finnish group sounds a lot like a less progressive version of Lake of Tears, musically as well as vocally. Like that Swedish group, they have opted for a male singer only, but their gothic metal style is infused with blues-rock rather than psychedelic rock (particularly on "Down the Drain"). I've always liked blues-rock, and I've always liked Lake of Tears, so this makes it sound very promising.

Sometimes the formula works very well. "Alone," "The Last Song," and "Casket Case" are all good examples. Other times, it doesn't work so well. A few of the songs come off as teenage angst rather than gothic metal; nowhere is this more evident than on "Invisible." The biggest problem, though, is that the songs "Leech" and "My World" are the second and third songs on the album. They both tread dangerously close to angst, and they are two consecutive 4-minute songs that sound a lot alike. They really should have been arranged into one song.



The Verdict: The album definitely has some high points, but it's plagued by weaknesses as well. It would have been better if they had dropped tracks 2 through 5 and released it as an EP. I give it 2 out of 5 stars.