Band:	Cemetery Of Scream
Album:	Melancholy
Style:	Gothic doom metal
Release date:	1995
Guest review by:	Gothic Metalhead

01. Prologue
02. Melancholy
03. Dolor Ante Lucem
04. Gods Of Steel
05. And Just The Birds...
06. Apocalyptic Visions (Part II)
07. Anxiety
08. Landscape Of Sadness
09. Lost Flowers
10. Violet Fields Of Extinction
11. Epilogue
12. The Shadow Of Notre Dame Cathedral [bonus]

What a year 1995 was for the gothic metal scene. Not only were the genre's biggest bands releasing the most influential albums of their career, but it was the beginning of new bands popping up from all walks of life. Among those bands that released their debut is the Polish band Cemetery Of Scream, who released an album simply called Melancholy.

I remember listening to this album a couple of years ago, and thinking to myself "This is really spooky." I normally don't hear that kind of description with a lot of the gothic metal bands, let alone those from back in 1995, and Melancholy is a solid release, having some nice moments throughout the entire record. My love for this album may have dwindled compared to the first time I listened to this, but I always find myself going back to it time and time again.

I do want to address my criticism with this album first before talking about why this is a great album. The first thing is a lack of originality. The overall direction seems a little dated considering a lot of the gothic metal bands have moved away from their death metal roots at this point. The vocal performance, while it provides a deep level of extremity, does little to stand out in this entire album. Also, the production can be hit or miss. On one side, it is great for aiding in the overall atmosphere of the album, but on the other, it can be too raw, whilst some moments it's either too quiet or can't keep up with a few of the instruments (more specifically the drums).

With all that aside, this doesn't completely hinder the album.

Melancholy's atmosphere is incredibly spooky. That can be attributed to the performance of the keyboards and their soundscape, which has moments of ambiance and empowering synths. Sure, they may have overused the synths, but for an album like this that needs to have that dark atmosphere, it is much needed. Listening to this album gives me that feeling of being in a graveyard with a bunch of goths, just because of how gothic the atmosphere sounds. In a way, this atmosphere reminds me of another little band called Diabolique, especially when you look into the early works of that band. The best songs to check out this kind of atmosphere in are "Dolor Ante Lucem" and "Violet Fields Of Extinction."

The other musical performances in Melancholy are solid. There aren't many distinctive structures, but they were nonetheless enjoyable, providing that doom-inspired heaviness and clean melancholic vocals that keep that atmosphere going. There are also moments of minimalism for the suspenseful mood, like in "Violet Fields Of Extinction", where it has a quiet atmosphere only to proceed to the album's typical tone. Performances are solid within the guitar and drum department, although as mentioned before, not very distinctive. Also, because of the production, I find it hard to give any attention to the bass performance.

The lyrics are also a high point in Melancholy. Not only does it have some unique words, but adds to that gothic atmosphere as if it didn't have enough. There are a few things I would have fixed throughout the entire record, but overall it was a well-written album that has darkness, and some level of yearning.

It may not be the most distinctive gothic metal album released in 1995, but Melancholy was an enjoyable album. Unlike many of the gothic metal bands, I never got a chance to listen to the rest of Cemetery Of Scream's discography to see if this album would be considered their best album or not. Nevertheless, its atmosphere stands out compared to every other performance and I still find the time to admire that sound when going back to this album.