Band:	Dark-N
Album:	Loading Complete
Style:	Doom metal, Gothic metal
Release date:	2005
A review by:	Jeff

01. Never Changes
02. Fashionidle
03. Thinkin?
04. Lullaby [The Cure cover]
05. Outside Reality
06. Sorry
07. The Only Loving One
08. Halfwords
09. Samara
10. Son Of A Dream

Dark-N was a famous underground band of the French Gothic scene of the end of the 90's. Their first release "Arcane XIII" got a lot of great critics in 1997? 8 years after a total black-out, the band does is come back with this new "Loading Complete" and if their first album was a good one, no doubt that the new one follow the road? Yeah, this "Loading Complete" is a really nice album of the "new way" of Gothic Metal and for sure the fans of this music will have to remember this name.

At the base, I'm not really a fan of this kind of music, but when it's well done, why not. The things that caught me in first were the cover-song of hit Lullaby by the genius "coldwawe" England combo The Cure. I really like this song in fact, and when I saw the title in the track list, I said to myself that maybe it was a cover. And it was a cover, and what a great one? Something in the same cold spirit than the original version but with in addition the anger of Gothic Metal on the choruses of the song. It was a catch for me, when a band is able to do a cover of such quality, in general you have a lot of chance to have an album of a great quality and I was sure that the others songs could be great? And I was just, the nine other songs of the albums are all very nice, with a lot of variation. Of course that's Gothic Metal in the spirit of a lot of Finnish bands [you see what I mean?], but there is something more. I don't think that the choice to do a cover of The Cure was just something hazardous, in fact I feel the same spirit in the music of Dark-N, but well evidently that's something Metal not Pop. Acoustic ballads, Gothic songs slow or fast, all that with a really nice quality music and a very beautiful voice [the singe is a really good surprise for me, no doubt that we will hear about him in the future...], I understand why the first album of the band got some good critics, we have a good band here?
With a good and nice production the album don't suffer of any problem regarding the quality of the recording. The artworks, even is the cover is not really spectacular, are really good, all the lyrics, some nice photos of the bands, that's a good job.

"Loading Complete" is a good album, if you like this kind of music, it's a must really, on the other side I doubt that the ones who don't like this side of "Gothic" Metal will fall in love with this band, but however there is something more with Dark-N. Really you should try the music of this band? A real confirmation for this talented combo.