Mortal Love - Forever Will Be Gone

Published Nov. 16 2006

*=Staff's pick	I Make The Mistake* Of Keeping The Fire Down While Everything Dies My Shadow Self* In The End Decides To Choke You Now So I Betray The Mission Still It Has Only Just Begun As We Can Not Be One Forever Will Be Gone*

Genre	Gothic Metal	C. Nyland/Hans Olav K.	Vocals
Tracks	10	Lars Baek	Guitar
Runningtime	40 Min.	-	Guitar
Label	Massacre Records	H-O Kjeljebakken	Bass
Release	22 Sept. 2006	Pål Wasa Johansen	Drums
Country	Norway	Mulciber	Keyboards
Similar artists	Beseech

When sitting on the commuter train on your way home, checking out the gray landscape that passes by the window, it's hard to argue against the type of soundtrack that Mortal Love offers. The melancholic guitar lines, ethereal vocals and pianos that constantly go in minor key sums up exactly how I feel inside on a dreary November day. This Norwegian quintet hereby releases Forever Will Be Gone, which apparently is the final part in a trilogy that also consists of the albums All The Beauty… (2002) and I Have Lost… (2005). Attentive readers might also notice that the track-list reads like a poem, proof enough that this band has pretentious ambitions.

Playing a gothic take on metal, as well as letting the two vocalists Catherine "Cat" Nyland and Hans Olav Kjeljebakken share the microphone, unavoidably invites to comparisons with the recently disbanded Swedish band Beseech. Just like the case with that band, the female vocalist is arguably the strongest asset. Nyland comes off as a close relative to big names like Sharon Den Adel (Within Temptation) and Liv Kristine (Leaves' Eyes), and does an amazing job on tracks like My Shadow Self and the adorable I Make The Mistake. Kjeljebakken is not nearly as prominent and mostly whispers his way through the record, although his growls on the epic title track, which flirts a bit with Cradle Of Filth, works great.

It's just too bad that the above-mentioned tracks are rather sole in terms of greatness. Much of the material feels unfocused and bland, and a few tracks (like In The End Decides and As We Can Not Be One) are downright pointless. It sounds somewhat like Rammstein's gothic trips on their latest album Rosenrot, but not nearly as convincing. And it just feels improper that Kjeljebakken starts singing in German all of a sudden. Hence the Rammstein-connection, perhaps?

When Beseech decided to call it quits they left a void after them. Mortal Love are not ready to fill the gap yet, but give them a few years and they might be ready to pick up the torch.

Production	Vocals	Compositions
6	7	5

Summary
5 chalices of 10 - Niklas