Band:	Aglarond
Album:	Across The Dark Night
Style:	Gothic doom metal
Release date:	2005
A review by:	Herzebeth

01. Screams Of Agony
02. Across The Dark Night
03. Under Sauron's Spell
04. In Your Room [Depeche Mode cover]
05. Lady Of The Valley [bonus]
06. Dark Stream [bonus]
07. The Lonely Mountain [bonus]
08. Blackened Rain [bonus]

I've heard a lot of Doom Metal bands with gothic overtones, most times I get bored with the results due to the lack of balance in the songs and the repetitiveness of the albums, not this time my friends, Aglarond manages to keep the audience interested in the music, "Across The Dark Night" is an orgy of Blasting Experiences mixed with profound feelings and even some bits of true aggression.

The album opener is "Screams Of Agony" (The Limited Edition features the video for this song, which is excellent by the way), This particular song gathers all the excellent parts of Aglarond's music, a beautiful voice competing with some really forceful shrieks, this is the true Beauty and The Beast battle, the riffing is incredibly catchy and well executed, it's not common to hear a Doom metal band with more than 3 really complex chords in one song believe me, the drum-beats are spectacular indeed, the drummer doesn't abuse the double-bass strikes he uses that beat only in the best peaks of the song, so the songwriting is excellent as you may notice. Another song you should not miss is "In Your Room", a great Depeche Mode Cover, this track will strike you with no warning, the environment is the best I've heard in years, and the vocals again are implausible.

The album features 4 excellent tunes (8 tracks plus a video if you own the limited edition piece), I am sure you'll love this piece if you are a fan of Doom/Gothic Metal with awesome female vocals, I actually wanted to hear more of Mariana's vocals but the album exploits a lot more the male shrieks, don't get me wrong the album is good as it is, but I think adding more female vocalizations would have made this album even greater. The production is sparkling clear, the mixing is marvelous, every track has a different tone and different atmospheres but the album never differs on the degree levels or anything, so perfect production.

If you are into this genre you must find and buy this album right away, I swear you won't regret, it's a great piece wrapped with unpredictable music, sublime execution, high quality sounds and astonishing music.