STREAM OF PASSION

Here we have Stream of Passion's third studio album, and the second in their present day guise as a "proper" band away from their Arjen Lucassen side-project roots. I couldn't quite pinpoint what exactly stopped me clicking with this album on the initial couple of listens as, while the music's undeniably well performed and nicely produced/mixed, something about the songwriting just didn't do it for me. Whether it confounded my expectations of what I thought I'd be hearing based on the band's previous release, 'The Flame Within', or whether the album as a whole is a grower I am unsure but something about it hampered my enjoyment of the music. It's probably a combination of those two factors as, by the third and fourth listens, 'Darker Days' suddenly started sounding good. Very good, in fact. A little bit more complex in the arrangements than 'The Flame Within', and with greater depth through more layers of music, the album is, ultimately, a far more diverse musical outing than its predecessor. Progressive in its foundations, as has been the case since Lucassen's involvement, the tracks transcend female fronted sympho-metal stereotypes through their diversity and compositionally innovative nuances. We're not talking uninhibited innovation here, rather subtly progressive elements that spice up what are, otherwise, more traditional song structures. And everything's so much more emphatic than on 'The Flame Within' - guitar riffs, bass and drums add more weight this time round so the heavy passages sound heavier, and the mellower sections have been adorned with even more lush keyboards and a string quartet. However, while the keys/strings are more prominent than before which works to the music's advantage in certain places, they are occasionally too high in the mix, but only for my personal taste I guess. And I do emphasise that it's only occasionally. The mix is otherwise of a very high standard with all elements clearly audible in the multi-layered instrumentations. Marcela Bovio's vocals are, once again, mightily impressive as she weaves rich, captivating melodies into the music with her wide ranging voice, the high point of which has to be on 'Our Cause' which is pure sublimity. Her vocal phrasing and ease with which she utilises scales to create the actual melodies is also quite breathtaking. Overall, a more than welcome return for Stream of Passion and, if like me you don't immediately love the music, be a little patient as you too might grow to love it as I do. A recommended purchase.

LABEL:

FORMAT:

Napalm Records

Album

DARKER DAYS

Review by Mark Holmes

RUNNING TIME:

53:42

RELEASE DATE:

24th June 2011

TRACK LISTING

1) Lost; 2) Reborn
3) Collide; 4) The Scarlet Mark
5) Spark
6) Our Cause
7) Darker Days
8) Broken
9) This Moment
10) Closer
11) The Mirror
12) Nadie Lo Ve
13) The World is Ours

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:

Netherlands

"A little bit more complex in the arrangements than 'The Flame Within', and with greater depth through more layers of music, the album is, ultimately, a far more diverse musical outing than its predecessor."