Band:	Grinning Shadows
Album:	The New Curse
Style:	Black metal, Gothic metal
Release date:	March 2010

01. The New Curse
02. If
03. Dirge
04. Missing
05. Scars Of Remembrance

When you have one female-fronted metal album, there's always the risk you'll listen to one of the numerous clones of [insert any famous band here]?
Hmmm? They come from Italy? Lacuna Coil?
Thankfully, not really. Maybe a bit in the mood? Anyway, it's leaning a bit more on the symphonic side of things than their fellow countrymen (no, I didn't make a comparison with Epica this time), but they are far more aggressive than most bands of the style.

So well, how are the vocals? Grinning Shadows have the usual 'beauty and the beast' opposition, with some pretty classical vocal lines, but while Silvia Rigoni does have a nice voice, Mario Farina's vocals are lacking power and aggression most of the time (with the exception of his grunts, good on the whole). This said, they work quite well together.
The music itself has some nice twists, with its neo-classical inspirations (the waltz parts of "Missing" being just one example) and quite bombastic arrangements - thankfully never over-the-top. The riffing and drumming are often quite extreme, I'm pretty sure the bandmembers are fans of symphonic black metal. Not that Grinning Shadows are BM in any way, but some riffs and orchestrations do hint at that (like the introduction of "If"). And then there are these calm interludes, where the keyboards do shine. And, the song are varied and interesting, with enough breaks and mood changes to keep the listener interesting throughout the EP.

All in all, it's a pleasant listen, even if you don't like the style. Not completely original, but more than most anyway, and it's really well done. I don't know if it'll be enough in this crowded genre, but I guess it's a must-check for fans of the style. Especially if you need a bit more aggression!