A Dream Of Poe - Lady Of Shalott review
| Band: | A Dream Of Poe |
| Album: | Lady Of Shalott |
| Style: | Doom metal, Gothic metal |
| Release date: | May 2010 |
01. Lady Of Shalott
02. Lady Of Shalott [Short version]
03. If Only Tonight We Could Sleep [The Cure cover]
04. Laudanum
05. Whispers Of Osiris
A Dream Of Poe are a dreamy doom act from the beautiful green islands in the middle of the Atlantic, Azores that is. The group was started in 2005 as a solo project of Miguel Santos from In Peccatum, another grand band from these islands. This one here, Lady Of Shalott, is their third studio work, a decent EP to show what this band has to offer as of 2010.
The main stress of this release is on the title track(s) since we have the song of the lady of Shalott in both complete and short versions. How can this song and the general atmosphere of the release be described then? It is beautiful, without any doubt, slow, calm, sad and thoughtful. The instrumental side with it's mesmerising guitar passages and riffing plus the varied use of male vocal styles with parallel layers of grunts and clean melancholic singing. Those who have liked My Dying Bride's works will most probably welcome Lady Of Shalott as well, I'm sure.
The EP contains two versions of the title track, one cover a song originally by The Cure plus new versions of two songs originally from the ensemble's 2009 EP Sorrow For The Lost Lenore. Sometimes releases with such a tracklisting layout might receive criticism for consisting of mere rearrangements and covers and bonus tracks and whatnot. In Lady Of Shalott's case this might be forgiveable because the choice of songs is not bad as all of them stand out in a way and those who find what they look for in them will surely appreciate this. Good companions for the title track are the gloomy "Laudanum" and "Whispers Of Osiris". Those familiar with The Cure might be interested in how the group inspired by Edgar Allan Poe have reimagined the song "If Only Tonight We Could Sleep".
To sum it up, Lady Of Shalott is a nice EP containing some promising songs. I hope that the group will one day reach the point of releasing a full-length studio release with a strong tracklist of outstanding songs such as the title track of this EP. Have a shot of vodka in the darkness, in the summer night and give a listen to this.
Comments
Comments: 21
Visited by: 133 users
| Troy Killjoy perfunctionist Posts: 21306 From: Canada  |
What a pretentious band name. Decent music though.
---- "Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
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| akvan Posts: 186 From: Iran  |
---- Think about it . Every generation gets some new frontier to tackle . Einstein got relativity , The Nasa cowboys got the moon . All the easy stuff is taken , Artificial consciousness is the next frontier !
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| !J.O.O.E.! Account deleted |
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| Troy Killjoy perfunctionist Posts: 21306 From: Canada |
Written by Guest on 30.06.2010 at 16:59 Precisely what I find pretentious about them.
---- "Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
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| !J.O.O.E.! Account deleted |
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| Troy Killjoy perfunctionist Posts: 21306 From: Canada |
Written by Guest on 30.06.2010 at 17:04 I find it pretentious when bands "pay homage" to the likes of masterminds by playing mediocre music. Of course, that is just a matter of opinion. 
---- "Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
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| !J.O.O.E.! Account deleted |
!J.O.O.E.!
Account deleted Written by Troy Killjoy on 30.06.2010 at 17:05 An opinion which changed from "decent" to "mediocre" in just 3 posts ;]
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| Troy Killjoy perfunctionist Posts: 21306 From: Canada |
Written by Guest on 30.06.2010 at 17:08 It's what happens when you further analyze a band's sound (via MySpace of course).
---- "Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
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| !J.O.O.E.! Account deleted |
!J.O.O.E.!
Account deleted Written by Troy Killjoy on 30.06.2010 at 17:16 But you thought it was pretentious when they were decent =p
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| Troy Killjoy perfunctionist Posts: 21306 From: Canada |
Written by Guest on 30.06.2010 at 17:21 Because I was expecting music that would rival the brilliance of the poet they seem to adore so much. Hefty band names like this bring in big expectations, at least from me.
---- "Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
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| Mr.Wilson Posts: 60 From: Portugal  |
What is wrong making homage to such renowned poet? Doom metal heavily rely on literature sometimes, it's emotional and poetic.. and it's what A Dream Of Poe is all about..if you think their music is mediocre, ok it's your opinion, but i think that honoring E. A. Poe is far from pretentious it's actually quite cool...but Ok...and BTW excellent EP 
---- "..Damned in any Language..."
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| Troy Killjoy perfunctionist Posts: 21306 From: Canada |
Written by Mr.Wilson on 01.07.2010 at 06:49 As I explained (or at least tried to explain) earlier, I think it's a pretentious name because of the quality of music in correlation with who they're paying homage to, which is all based on personal opinion and is obviously not a defining characteristic of their sound. It isn't a fact that these guys are pretentious and mediocre because I say they are, but in my opinion they aren't great and their band name doesn't serve them well as a result. I don't think that clarifies anything any better, but that's how I feel about it.
---- "Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
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| Susan Smeghead Posts: 6941 From: USA  |
I agree that it's a silly band name but I'm still excited to hear the music. Great review, I think I'm getting the picture of their sound.
---- "A life all mine Is what I choose At the end of my days" --The Gathering "A Life All Mine" from Souvenirs
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| Mr.Wilson Posts: 60 From: Portugal |
Written by Susan on 07.07.2010 at 18:38 you can download it for free on their Myspace:)
---- "..Damned in any Language..."
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| ponderer Posts: 153 From: Aruba  |
Troy Gallant calling this band pretentious is pretty much the definition of pretentiousness. What the hell does some 19 year old punk douchebag from Canada know about anything anyway? Using MS as an outlet for your pretentious verbal diarrhea is offensive and revolting. Get back to us when you gain some wisdom and experience otherwise put a cork in it.
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| Troy Killjoy perfunctionist Posts: 21306 From: Canada |
Written by ponderer on 24.07.2010 at 18:20 Troll rating: 4/10. You lost points for the following: 1. Calling me out on being pretentious for calling someone else out for being pretentious. -3 for irony. 2. Checking out my profile to make sure you can insult me for being younger than you, and thus, less knowledgeable (bonus points for being a punk douchebag Canadian). -2 for "back in my day" syndrome. 3. Telling me to "gain wisdom". -1 for an insult that all but lacks sagacity. Hopefully this helps you lern 2 troal better for future attacks! Have a nice day.
---- "Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
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| ponderer Posts: 153 From: Aruba |
Written by Troy Killjoy on 25.07.2010 at 01:00 Hey everybody I'm Troy and I sit here on MS trolling the posts because I didn't get enough attention as an adolescent. Now that I'm all of 19 I know pretty much everything about everything and nobody is going to tell me anything ever even when I post baseless half-wit garbage. I realize I spend all my time at home alone playing World of Warcraft which is why I have a nerd-like point system for everything, but teenagers think it's cool so I'll keep doing it until they tell me otherwise. If only the real world could be like an rpg then I could just use my awkward pretentiousness as a weapon instead of repelling everyone I come in contact with. If only I could use my abrasive attempts at social contact for good instead of making everyone think I'm some jagoff loser troll. Maybe I'll dye my hair blue this week and get another piercing in my face. That'll really show everyone how unique and special I am! +10 for originality! Nobody really understands my musical tastes and quite frankly neither do I lolz. I just listen to crap nobody has ever heard of because it makes people think I'm different and special somehow even though 99% of it is talentless drivel. The next Glowbug Maelstorm show is supposed to have more than 5 people at it so that should be exciting. Maybe my boyfriend can go this time! Anyhoo, I have to check the posts and make sure that darn ponderer isn't getting more attention than me otherwise I'll have to give him more negative points lolz lmao lolz rofl. As soon as I get a college education and some friends I'll really show that guy!
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| Troy Killjoy perfunctionist Posts: 21306 From: Canada |
Written by ponderer on 27.07.2010 at 12:40 Spot on!
---- "Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
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| Marcus Doit Like Bernie Posts: 642 From: USA  |
This turned into a fun review! Just listened to the album: thought it was pretty weak.
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