Band:	Mandragora Scream
Album:	A Whisper Of Dew
Style:	Gothic metal
Release date:	February 10, 2003
Guest review by:	Ernis

01. Issergia's Hope
02. Silent Lullabies
03. A Vision They Shared
04. Velvet Eyes
05. Iiaonman Iifbiich Vampires
06. Labyrinth Of Earth
07. Lactate Veins
08. Bloody Ballade
09. Rainbow Seeker
10. Close Every Door
11. Crow's Love
12. A Whisper of Dew

Once I noticed an album on the shelf at a music store the artwork of which started to haunt me afterwards. I visited the store again and every time I came across this album on the shelf. From the album cover a mystical beautiful woman was casting a glance at me as if tempting "Dare to take me..." Hence, one day I went to that store and couldn't resist the temptation of buying this album. This was my first encounter with Mandragora Scream and their singer Morgan Lacroix.

Although "A Whisper of Dew" was the second album of the group it was the first work of theirs that I listened to. It's a beautiful album, not just the music but also the whole production and artwork are delighting. "A Whisper of Dew" is a concept album centered around a vampire novel written for the band by Julio Angel Olivares Merino, a gothic horror writer and teacher of English Philosophy in the University of Jaen, Spain. As stated on the homepage of the band, Morgan Lacroix based all the lyrics on this particular story.

Just like the first album of Mandragora Scream, the second one is enriched with special effects as well. They have taken care that the listener will be completely surrounded by the atmosphere of the vampire story and the beauty of the lyrics. The music built on this basis is the same familiar style we already got to taste on the first release, gothic metal with the undertone of Italian power. The voices of Morgan and Terry enchant the listener with firm quality. Using audio clips from the film "The Lord of the Rings" is a risky aspect (I wonder if the band paid copyright to Peter Jackson) but it suits the music perfectly. Liv Tyler's "guest appearance" in the role of Arwen will sweetly entice all hobbits (and not just hobbits but everyone) into this garden of music. The tracks dissolve into each other and you'll hear Arwen cursing the waters from the misty mountain tops to fall on the ringwraiths who perish with their haunting screams. These sequences link together the songs each one of which serves as a chapter of the tale of vampires sung by Morgan Lacroix. Among the tracks there is also a cover of the song "Close Every Door" originally belonging to the musical "Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice.

Most of the tracks are performed in a calm manner, both singers have placed a fine stress on passing on feelings through the music. The highlights of the album are the catchy "A Vision They Shared," passionate and terrifying "Iiaonman Iifbiich Vampires," an energetic song "Rainbow Seeker" where Terry Horn sings the lead vocals, and a simply spellbinding piece of the album "Crow's Love." After visiting this realm the whispers of Arwen will say a farewell and a guest appearance by Enya singing "Aníron" will lead you out of Rivendell. You'll enter the real world again, content to have had another good musical experience.