Heart's Blood

The vast majority of European recordings that Candlelight has distributed in the United States have been metal-oriented in some respect -- perhaps death metal or black metal, perhaps power metal or progressive metal, perhaps thrash metal, perhaps doom metal/stoner rock, perhaps gothic metal, perhaps alternative metal. But whatever the style, there has almost always been some type of metal connection. Heart's Blood, however, is an exception to that rule. Because of the strong credibility that Candlelight enjoys in the metal world, this 40-minute CD was reviewed on a lot of metal-oriented websites -- and some reviewers, upon hearing the word "goth" in connection with Tenebre, assumed that Heart's Blood was gothic metal. But it isn't. Rather, this Swedish band provides guitar-based goth rock with a strong Sisters of Mercy influence. Sisters of Mercy and the seminal Bauhaus (another influence) are not considered gothic metal; nor should Tenebre. That said, Heart's Blood does have a bluesy hard rock influence at times (hard rock is not the same as metal, although there can easily be a fine line between the two). Tenebre's songs frequently contain hints of the Doors (who were undeniably a precursor to goth rock), and despite the extensive use of keyboards, Heart's Blood will not be mistaken for the high-tech, heavily programmed electro-goth style; this is a goth outfit that clearly worships at the altar of the electric guitar. Heart's Blood isn't ultra-metallic, but it rocks; for all their gloom, moodiness and dark, shadowy melancholia, Tenebre know how to rock and often do so in a catchy, infectious way. No one will accuse this highly derivative effort of striving for originality or pointing goth in any new directions; nonetheless, Heart's Blood is a decent album that is worth hearing if one likes his/her goth rock with a very prominent electric guitar. ~ Alex Henderson|