Pelata Chilean Gothic Doom Metal. This is the simplest, most concise description of Mar De Grises’ (Sea Of Gray) music. All the requisite elements are present to warrant this description as well. Within the 64 minute release, we find plenty of slow tempos, sad, depressing melodies, Death Metal vocals & an overall darkly romantic vibe.

Now, depending on your taste this is the kind of album that will either bore one to tears or drive them there with its passion & conviction. Some purveyors of the genre will love this album for its pure rendition of the style, others will hate it for being more of the same when they crave something new. I’ll say that if you are one of the latter then you’d best be on your way. Draining The Waterheart stays true to its chosen genre and does a fine job and flying said flag. 2 of the 8 tracks here are sung in Spanish which, with these vocals, is nearly impossible to decipher let alone recognize. But, follow along with the lyric sheet and improve your bilingual skills. There are plenty of free online translators to help. The English lyrics are the usual poetic fare and fit the vibe of the music nicely.

Some bands seek to innovate while some bands just want to make the best music they can in the genre of their choosing. Mar De Grises plays good, strong, heavy music and fans of the style will find more to love inside this band’s dark embrace. Fans of Shape Of Despair, Draconian, My Dying Bride & the like take note.