Gothic metal is a genre I've mostly avoided ever since I got into metal. It just never appealed to me and came across as overly formulaic with its verse-chorus-verse songwriting and the typical gloomy, low range singer. And don't get me started on the beauty and the beast variant... (I'm well aware that my dislike for the genre has a lot to do with me not being all that familiar with it.) But once in a while a band comes along that manages to catch my interest, the band in question being The Foreshadowing. These Italians play a more doomy version of gothic metal and have three albums under their belt, Second World, released earlier this year, being the last one. This album doesn't really bring anything new to the table, instead it takes the usual ingredients for your typical gothic metal album and infuses it with a ton of atmosphere and excellent songwriting.

What struck me first about this album is the aforementioned atmosphere the music evokes. It could literally be the soundtrack to the imagery displayed on the cover and all the emotions that come with it: the few survivors of an apocalypse, left to dwell through an empty wasteland, feeling hopeless, somber and angered after losing everything, yet with the necessity to remain convinced that there's still hope because, without that, what else is there to live for? Again, even the concept for the cover art isn't anything new but rarely have I seen albums in which the cover so accurately displayed the mood of the music, even down to the colours being used. The driving force behind this atmosphere is singer Marco Benevento whose sultry and emotional voice made me forget about any preconceptions I had left.

The second factor that plays a major role in making this album a succes is the great songwriting at display. Opener Havoc begins with the sound of a crackling campfire and a gun being loaded that leads into desolate riffing and synths with Marco's opulent voice on top, instantly setting the mood for the rest of the album. Outcast follows, one of the faster tracks on the album with its mid-tempo drumming and one of the highlights with its instantly memorable chorus and the tragically epic riffing during the second half of the song. The title track is probably the best song of the entire album, with its verses that conjure up feelings of bleakness and comfortlessness, only to be followed by the most beautiful chorus of the entire album. Ground Zero is the song that probably leans the most towards the classic gothic metal sound yet turns out to be a very pleasant listen. Lastly, Colonies stands out by slowly but gradually building up the emotion and tension. Is there nothing to complain about then? Surely there is. The album doesn't contain all too many surprises, if you've heard the first three songs you've basically heard them all. That's not to say the rest of the album isn't any good, far from it actually. It's just that a little innovation would've been welcome.

The Foreshadowing have created an album that, without being album of the month material, managed to catch me by surprise, coming out of a genre I rarely venture into and forcing me to eat up every prejudice I could throw at them. And for that I applaud them. This is definitely recommended to any fan of gothic/doom metal.