Band:	Absentia
Album:	Our Bleeding Sun
Style:	Symphonic black metal, Death metal
Release date:	December 2011

01. All This Hell
02. The End Of The Line
03. Inferno
04. Dead Winter
05. Darkest Tranquility
06. Portrait Of A Soul
07. Is Heaven Crying?
08. If Only I
09. One More Step (Away From Home)

Absentia are a four piece hailing from Spain and Our Bleeding Sun marks their second full-length release.

While their website refers to their style as "symphonic death metal" (Fleshgod Apocalypse they are not), their rep was closer in referring to this as symphonic black/death. Let's just say it seems their biggest influence as far as I can tell is Dimmu Borgir, so make of that what you will.

While not a big Dimmu Borgir fan, I can see the appeal of their style of music... a style which I feel Absentia succeeds in capturing.

Similarities include good/great production, standard guitar/bass/drum nucleus played at an upbeat midpace clip with plenty of symphonics which, like a spoonful of sugar, help the medicine go down. Vocals are rasped, but generally intelligible. Additionally you get occasional "choir" backing, strings, and clean female supporting vocals as well. All well played and executed.

I suppose it is rather derivative... at times it sounds like the bastard offspring of the Jim Carrey of metal guitarists*, Galder, and either of the Nightwish frontwomen... and that includes Tuomas.

Lest it seem my review is horrifyingly negative, that certainly wasn't the impression I walked away from the album with. It's just a bit outside my wheelhouse. (Did I just use that buzzword in a review? I am so ashamed.) To tweak the cliché, I prefer my black metal like my coffee... either straight black or laced with psychedelics as opposed to the sugared up cappafrappaalpacino.

Truth be told, the music is catchy and enjoyable enough and I can see where the style would be a "gateway" drug to harder, uh, coffee.

Besides, if you are going to blow shit up in a videogame while jamming to symphed-up black metal, at least you'll score kvlt points for grooving to an unknown band from Spain rather than Starbucks. (Oh crap, seems I'm getting the coffee/black/sugared up chain coffee-candy drink thing all mixed up... )

Short summation - If you like Dimmu Borgir or are one of those people that digs that style of music without wanting to admit to liking McStarbucks Burger, this is worth your while to check out. If that's not your thing, this probably isn't, either.



* Galder, like Jim Carrey, is the man of 1,000 faces. All of which are hilarious... even if unintentionally so.