Band:	Vagrant God
Album:	Vagrant God
Style:	Gothic metal
Release date:	September 2012

01. Perfect Innocence
02. Stigma
03. Ocean Bed
04. To the Garden
05. In My Failings
06. The Pathos Weavers
07. Insignia
08. Birds Of Leaving
09. Mentor

What's so good about the Metal Storm awards besides all the joy you get should your favorite band win the award? Discovering new bands. That comes from a deep sense of curiosity and interest in trying out new stuff and after you're through with it, you realize that the selected nominee doesn't even have a review, which is a shame, really.

Norwegian female-fronted gothic act Vagrant God is a gathering of seasoned musicians from prominent gothic/doom acts Omit and Funeral, and for some, it would seem the result is going to be a poor interpretation of the "beauty and the beast" aesthetic coupled with dry, recycled melodies to which we've all listened. But actually that's not the case and each of the musicians have added their own musical touch to come up with a relatively fresh album. At least visually, the album art looks pretty new.

Like most gothic albums, atmosphere plays a pivotal role here and each song carries a substantial amount of melancholic atmosphere, which is enough to render the album a "sleep aid" if you have trouble sleeping sometimes, all thanks to Cecilie Langlie's soothing voice, and of course, the elegiac lyrics.

However, I'm really disappointed that the trip was not completely satisfying. By the time I reached "In My Failings", I was beginning to think the album was getting boring. The songs follow the same formula over and over with little variation and you get the feeling that you're walking on the same path with little changes in your movement pattern. But nevertheless, the performance was quite abundant and convincing and once I was done with the album, I felt that their self-titled debut truly deserved a place among the nominees for the Gothic Metal Album of the Year.

It's a little hard to pick up my favorite tracks. But anyway, if you don't have enough time or interest in checking out the album, check out "Birds of Leaving" and "Perfect Innocence".