Band:	Atrocity
Album:	After The Storm
Style:	Gothic industrial metal
Release date:	September 01, 2010
A review by:	KwonVerge

01. A New Arrival
02. Call Of Yesteryear
03. After The Storm
04. Silvan Spirit
05. Black Mountain
06. As The Sun Kissed The Sky
07. Transilvania
08. The Flight Of Abbas Ibn Firnas
09. Goddess Of Fortune And Sorrow
10. The Otherworld
11. Eternal Nightside

Lest we forget Werk 80 II, Atrocity hadn't offered anything new in terms of full-length since 2004's Atlantis. 2010 finds them with a different musical approach, they blend ethnic elements with metal music, to be more precise, metal elements with ethnic music, but is it actually that new? They've tried it before back in 1995 on Calling The Rain again with the collaboration of Yasmin Krull, performing the female vocals and the flute. The only thing that seperates 1995's release with 2010's After The Storm is the better production, the slightly more metallic character and... different compositions almost exactly in the same vein. Oh and the fact that the first one was calling for rain and the second one is after the storm, in the next 15 years there will be the rain album, because they seem to have skipped this chapter.

While listening to Atrocity's latest effort you will find intense references to Dead Can Dance with the overall ethnic acoustic motive which consists of the main structure of the compositions and only at times ("Call Of Yesteryear", "The Otherworld") or specific songs ("Black Mountain" and "Transilvania" [cheesy title spotted], being the heaviest songs in here) the electric guitars partake in the overall atmosphere lending a more metal approach. The production this time is better as stated above and this helps the overall work of Atrocity sound more pleasing to the ear and of course in this second attempt of mixing those two elements they sound more mature. Alex Krull mainly interprets with his clean voice and only at times he offers some more aggressive vocals ("Black Mountain"), managing to pace really well with Yasmin's multi-expressional lines. The album is tranquil, atmospheric and holds a sense of passed times in most of the tracks and owes this to the acoustic arrangements, the ethnic instrumentations, the marching or more traditional drumming and the flute.

Had you enjoyed Calling The Rain, you will enjoy this one even more. Apart from that though, it's an interesting album and if you can set aside the Dead Can Dance references and you won't prefer listening to Aion for example, After The Storm will have several things to whisper to your ear. Don't expect a full metal album, it's more an ethnic sounding work with metal references rather than ethnic metal or something. Proceed at your own risk, preferences and/or desires, for me it's quite decent with a travelling mood.

Highlights: "A New Arrival", "Silvan Spirit", "Black Mountain", "The Flight Of Abbas Ign Firnas", "The Otherworld."