Band:	Flowing Tears
Album:	Jade
Style:	Gothic metal
Release date:	2000
Guest review by:	Gothic Metalhead

01. Godless
02. Sistersun
03. Swallow
04. Lovesong For A Dead Child
05. Under The Red
06. Turpentine
07. The One I Drowned
08. Vanity
09. Radio Heroine
10. Coma Garden
11. Jade
12. White Horses

The debut of Flowing Tears, known as Jade, was something I never paid much attention to until recently. I was familiar with the band's latest album, as well as their album Joy Parade from back when they were called Flowing Tears & Withered Flowers, but I try to steer clear from the whole category of bands that have a female singer due to a lack of originality, even though there have been few that have grasped my attention. Ultimately, Jade was indeed an enjoyable listen, and most of the songs are wonderfully crafted.

Most of the music on Jade is surprisingly downbeat. I would expect it to be in the same vein as The Gathering in that it has that bright tone, but throughout this is melodramatic. While the music is simple and nothing is entirely new, it shines through its atmospheric guitars and rhythm patterns. The melodies coming from the guitar spectrum is great, especially on songs like "Swallow" and "Lovesong For A Dead Child", where establishment of the sound was indeed a welcoming experience, yet this album has little in the way of overindulgence on the part of keyboards, which is good. The melodies and patterns from the guitars carry a lot of the gothic atmosphere; the rest of the instruments were solid, but don't do anything exciting to help put a spotlight on their performance. There's also a bit of minimalistic space in some songs to bring a spotlight to the vocals, which can be seen as soothing, as is the case with "Under The Red." However, the songs that have that minimalistic/instrumental sound don't really grab my attention. Nevertheless, my experience with this album was positive, as it still features some well crafted music that possesses a lot of emotion and atmosphere.

The same praise can be given to the vocals. Stefanie Duchêne's performance was definitely unique compared to the gothic metal acts that came out the same time. This performance was melancholic and has that feeling of yearning. Most of the time it's low-energy, and that's what makes the album great, because it doesn't resort to going for something angelic or powerful, especially with an album such as this. Yearning is the best word to describe Duchêne's performance, and there was nothing in my mind to say that this is not moving, so big props for the vocal performance.

The lyrics are solid on this album. Most of it matches with the vocal performance, and has a lot of passion and romantic feeling on this album. though it can be slightly inconsistent in a few songs where it doesn't provide much in the way of creative lines to make this album a powerful experience. However, with what is written throughout the album, it still doesn't disappoint in establishing images, as most of the lyrics spoken leave that aforementioned yearning tone that this album does so well.

Jade is a solid release and can be a great alternative compared to the contemporaries that Flowing Tears were associated with at the time. There is definitely stuff that left to be desired, but this is Flowing Tears' best album I've heard when I compare it to their future releases. Those looking for bands that are similar to The 3rd And The Mortal's melodramatic atmosphere, then this is an album to check out.