As a part of the trilogy of Solitude Productions albums that were sent my way (see also Ekklesiast and Raventale), Darktrance from the Ukraine is represented with their debut album, “Ghosts In Shells”.

 

Despite being signed to a label that primarily dedicates itself to Doom Metal, Dartktrance doesn’t strictly fall into the same category as the other bands on BadMoodMan Music. Musically the band is better compared to Black Metal bands, although the sense of atmosphere would probably make the band best described as kindred to Forgotten Tomb and Deinonychus. Seeing that not all that many bands have successfully blended Black Metal and Doom Metal with the same quality as Forgotten Tomb, one can only be impressed by Darktrance’s effort. The essence of Black Metal remains, but the delicate union with slower breaks, Doom-tuning and thick layers of atmosphere by the keyboards make the music break out of the confines of the genre to aforementioned cross-breed. The quality of the music is consistently high, and probably more impressively, the songs have a distinct character, making the album both good and varied. Personal favorites include ´ Delusional Dreaming´ and ´God Of Time´, but all the songs make it clear that Darktrance have released an impressive debut album in “Ghosts In Shells”, and are a band to keep track of for the future!