MANDYLION

Now, this is gothic metal I can get behind. On the one hand you have the vocals of Anneke van Giersbergen, whose approach on this album is quite reminiscent of Julianne Regan's work in the great All About Eve, and on the other hand, you have a musical backing which often attains the same sort of wistful atmosphere as All About Eve - but through chunky, doomy riffs instead of hippified goth rock.

Put them together, and you create an intriguing blend which steers away from straight-ahead doom metal by virtue of its alternative rock and goth rock influences. As far as gothic metal goes, Mandylion is the first album I ever heard which really succeeded at fusing what I enjoy about goth rock - the brooding romanticism and emotional rawness - with a metal approach which supports and nurtures those factors. Great stuff.