Band:	Lost Inside
Album:	Mourning Wept Beside Me
Style:	Atmospheric black metal, Depressive black metal
Release date:	May 2011

01. Bewildered
02. A Ghost Among People
03. Four Walls And A Restless Shadow
04. Like A Wilted Flower
05. Feed On Tears

Ambient black metal is one of those genres where you have to dig deep through a lot of uninspired crap to get something good in return. We know that we shouldn't be fooled so easily by large numbers these days (3 demos, 2 compilations and 4 full-lengths since 2009). While the latest album by Lost Inside won't make the fans of the genre wet themselves in awe, this album isn't horrible. The kind of average albums that can be sort of enjoyable every now and then...

You should know what to expect by now. This American duo brings us a mild ambient black metal album. You won't listen to any fast and cacophonic sort of music and there is no mournful vibe either. It's all about relaxing in this case, slowly floating and being in a state between awake and asleep. I think I have to thank the production for that. It was something I enjoyed quite a bit with this album. The sound of the guitars isn't harsh or noisy at all. They just flow in a drone-like manner creating a gentle atmosphere. Some shy lead guitars make their appearance every once in a while giving the songs an extra touch (for example in "Feed On Tears").

Sometimes the riffs get oddly uplifting like in "A Ghost Among People" which caught me off guard with its peacefulness. These moments together with hypnotic atmospheres created by the acoustic guitars (especially in "Bewildered") were the most interesting moments of the album.

You will probably ask: "The rating seems a bit low. What happened?"

Well, guys: If you read closely you will notice I only wrote about moments, not songs per se. The good moments don't last long, things get quickly repetitive and tedious which is something you don't want for your ambient album. The band just didn't use their ideas too well.

Also, through these last few years, Kold (the founder of Lost Inside, playing all instruments) has changed vocalists from time to time. All I can say is that he needs to get a new one again. They are not bad but just too average, quite uninspired and kind of kill the mood most of the time. It's a shame because they really don't help the music that already has some flaws.

My humble advice to Kold: get a new vocalist, polish the songwriting and try again. You have some ideas that work well and you might do something better in the future.