Behind Your Fear
„Anthropocene“
Gothic-Rock/Metal

• LP, Blue-Marbled Vinyl 2022
• first pressing
• Not on Label
• new

Anyone who, like me, still listens to Flowing Tears with great enthusiasm (whether with Stefanie Duchêne or later with Helen Vogt) might hope that there's still a lot of FT in ByF. Or perhaps not. So let's not be confused and try to remain "neutral." And let's take off our many masks.

Stefanie's voice is clearly the strongest reminder of FT. Let's agree that neither FT nor ByF do, or have ever done, anything other than gothic rock/metal. The first song, "One Day" starts off well and sounds unique. And then comes "The Mask". And that's FT. Sounds harsh, but it's true. The song is good, no doubt, but it's not original. "New Ways" on the other hand, really hits you hard and is a highlight for me, even though it could have come from FT. Enough of that, the song is simply powerful. "Bandaged Eyes" starts like gothic pop and stays that way. From the middle onward, however, the song improves significantly, slowing down before building to a heavier climax. "Little While" has a nice melody, but is it a bit too polished for me? No, because it also has strong moments. "Heartbeats" with its piano, is carried by Stefanie's beautiful voice, and I don't need any other accompaniment here.

“Weakness”, at 5:43 the longest song, and for me also the most atmospheric. A clear highlight and the strongest song for me. “Hollow” clearly lives from Stefanie's singing. I like it. “Shattered Mirrors”. I can't really do much with that one. But it doesn't throw me out and somehow always catches me again. “DNR” is another highlight. Starts with piano. Sometimes I see myself sitting in a jazz bar with a gin and tonic, at the end of the apocalypse and the song is playing. Morbid, I know. With morbid thoughts, we move on to the symphonic throw-off “Lullaby”. Unfortunately too short, because it is good.

There are albums I enjoy listening to all the way through. That's a good thing, because Anthropocene is one of them. I like this kind of music. The musicians are good, the singer is good. Of course, nothing groundbreaking was invented here, nor does it need to be. The album is good. And Flowing Tears? It shines through, and I like it. Nevertheless, it's Behind Your Fear and not Flowing Tears. I like that, too.

Stefanie -Vocals, Piano.
Scorpius – Bass.
Michael – Drums.
Moritz – Guitar.
David – Keyboards
T. – Guitar, Keyboards.

Unfortunately, the limited blue marbled vinyl I have is still full of crackling noises, despite thorough cleaning. Much better than at the beginning, but still annoying in the quiet passages. Of course, that can only be due to my copy. Music is good, unfortunately my vinyl not so much.

The photos are all from my LP. The rights to all designs, logos, texts and fonts that can be seen in the photos are of course owned by the copyright holder.

TheProgThief
©05.April.2024
Mk 2