Remina - The Silver Sea (2025) [FLAC|Lossless|image + .cue] <Doom Metal, Black Metal, Atmospheric Black Metal>

Описание:
As with their 2022 debut, Strata, REMINA’s sophomore album demonstrates an especially spaced out approach to gothic doom. The blend recalls Third And The Mortal with enough colossal riffs to stay within metal territory but largely driven by the sort of slow burn textures and ethereal vocals from dream pop and ethereal wave. The execution has a sense of methodical reservation while still carrying heavy emotion, avoiding the usual gothic metal bombast but its trippy aspects are lacking the fuzz to steer it toward doomgaze.

The band roster having expanded with this album also gives their momentum a good sense of progress. Bringing drummer Shayne Roos was a good move, giving the music smoother movement while maintaining those crawls and giving vocalist/keyboardist Heike Langhas and multi-instrumentalist Mike Lamb more opportunity to focus on their performances. The vocals also benefit from contributions of guest singers on “Algol” and “Vanta Ray,” fleshing things out without going full beauty and the beast.

I appreciate how this album also manages to throw its dynamics around well enough amidst such consistently glacial tempos without the songs getting one-dimensional. “Trust No One” sets the standard with synths that are unwavering in the face of fluctuating trudges and echoing laments. There are hints of accessibility as the aforementioned “Algol” applies its beautiful duet to a gradually enveloping climb that is mirrored in “Theia” while “Vanta Ray” comes the closest to hitting a more upbeat structure accompanied by more optimistic lyrics. It’s also pretty cool to see the electronics largely take over for “Io” with industrial tinges and extra haunting vocal layers.

Overall, REMINA nurtures a unique formula with great growth on The Silver Sea. The balance of dark dream pop and doom (dream doom?) is cohesive throughout as the dynamics are tasteful and the melancholic overcast never comes off as too overwrought or detached. It hits the sort of prowess that peers in groups like Frayle and Hangman’s Chair fall just shy of and the methodical electronics make me wonder how much appeal it could have for fans of outfits like Sleep Token. Both of their albums are strong recommendations and it’ll be interesting to see where they could go from here.

Участники записи:
Artwork, Layout – Heike Langhans
Drums, Written-By [Drums Co-Written By] – Shayne Roos
Music By, Recorded By, Artwork By, Layout, Written-By – Heike Langhans
Music By, Recorded By, Mixed By, Mastered By, Written-By – Mike Lamb (3)
Photography By – Mike Wilson