(Gothic Rock) Avaritia - Wide Awake EP (2002) & Pulse (2003) [MP3 (tracks), 160-320 kbps]

German gothic rock came on strong during the nineties. They were dark, pretentious and often they seemed to like the good ol' Sisters or other icons of the darker school. By the end of the century, most of the bands turned to metal or electro so I turned my attention to the American goth scene. What we have here is surprising, a new German band promising to play more traditional goth and with Justin Stephens from Passion Play as producer, expectations rise.
When I listen to this five track release, it strikes me that it does not sound German at all, which I suppose is good. The music clearly reminds me of Passion Play, although the guitars differ pretty much. They are very melodic and always present in the music of Avaritia. While Passion Play have a more distinguished rock sound regarding the guitars, Avaritia have a light, clinging sound and they are the strength of this band! The sound of Avaritia could be described as a cocktail made of equal parts X-Mal Deutschland, Passion Play and Minnesota band Autumn with a cherry on top. The guitars in "Challenge" remind me of Autumn. If it is a theft it's a clever one. The vocals are female and she really can sing, but they are somewhat unpersonal as female vocals often are. The song material is also good, although there is an evident lack of variation - all songs have the same sound and tempo, which makes me happy that there are only five tracks on this release. If it would've been an album with this similar songs, it wouldn't have worked this well. I look forward to the next release and hope for more variation.

Продолжительность: 00:20:16
Треклист:
01. Pleasure & Pain [00:03:34]
02. A Tiny Glance [00:04:22]
03. Challenge [00:04:46]
04. Bars [00:04:00]
05. Fragile [00:03:32]

#777Продолжительность: 00:29:16
Треклист:
01. And Here They Are Again [00:04:23]
02. Days Like This [00:04:06]
03. Summer's Gone [00:04:25]
04. To Preserve And Never To Forget [00:03:59]
05. Hour-Glass [00:04:32]
06. Strangers [00:04:06]
07. Your Inability [00:03:40]