UMUR "Sombre Romantic" is the debut full-length studio album by Australian goth/doom/symphonic metal act Virgin Black. The album was originally self-released in February 2001 but saw a label release through The End Records in 2002. Virgin Black were formed in Adelaide, Australia in 1995 and they released the "Trance" EP in 1998 as their first release.

The music on "Sombre Romantic" is a rather eclectic goth/doom metal style including choirs, strings, piano, and semi-operatic singing. The atmosphere is drenched in melancholy, which can be heard in both the way the vocals are performed and in how the melodies sound. While it´s truly an epic release with several majestic moments, it´s also quite a dynamic release also featuring more stripped down and quiet melancholic sections. Some tracks also feature more extreme type vocals, and it´s safe to say "Sombre Romantic" is a diverse release.

The diversity also makes it slightly inconsistent in style, which can be a strength or a weakness depending on the ears who hear, but personally I could have wished for a more stylistically "clean" release. Not that variation isn´t a good thing, but more because Virgin Black are more convincing playing some styles than others. The album for example opens very strong with "Opera de Romanci: I. Stare" and "Opera de Romanci: II. Embrace", but can´t quite follow up the powerful and epic opening with something equally breathtaking. All material on the 10 track, 44:25 minutes long album is still very well written though, and overall "Sombre Romantic" is quite the intriguing release.

The sound production is professional, clear, and well sounding, and upon conclusion "Sombre Romantic" doesn´t sound like a typical debut album. Other than the flow of the album, which is disturbed slightly by the stylistic diversity of the music, it´s a pretty impressive release and a 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

progshine Australian Gothic Metal... those words alone should have been enough for me to know I should move away from such a band like Virgin Black (what a fantastic and original name, right!?)!

Gothic Metal for me is the most unbearable atrocity that music, and Metal, has ever invented. The guy who decided that it was a good idea to join Heavy Metal with classical music, 'erudite' singers (read erudite with a lot of irony) and the whole 'Goticity' thing should burn at the stake.

But I must say that "Requiem: Mezzo Forte" is not the worst record I've ever heard in this genre (the title goes to anything Leaves' Eyes has ever recorded), being very well produced and full of interesting moments. Truth is that the album has very little Gothic Metal in it, it's more like something Therion would do, more Symphonic Metal with Doom Metal blasts I guess. But there is just no way, in the end, that this is any good in the end. You listen to it and it doesn't make you listen again, ever!

This style of Metal just doesn't do anything for me. What fans of the genre take for beauty I see only nonstop boredom. But I recognize the Australians' effort and maybe fans of the genre will like it.

Warthur Virgin Black's sound on this first entry in their Requiem trilogy is mostly rooted in gothic metal - song titles like Lacrimosa (I Am Blind With Weeping) are the big clue there - with elements of doom metal and symphonic metal skillfully woven into their sound. The end result is somewhat more progressively flavoured than gothic metal typically gets, and the band show excellent taste in how they integrate the orchestra and choir they are backed by here into their sound, though there's somewhat too many long sections given over entirely to the orchestra and choir. "Symphonic doomy gothic metal" is a very specific niche to try and capture, but Virgin Black do a passable job of it.

Conor Fynes 'Requiem Fortissimo' - Virgin Black (3/10)

While it might not be the most inspiring word-of-mouth introduction for a band to hear your friend tell you to give 'one of the worst albums he has ever listened to' a try, but as always, music is a very subjective experience and I like to treat it as such. While there are aspects of music that appeal to a majority of people, there will always be pieces of music that some may hate, and others love depending on their outlook and ear.

'Requiem Fortissimo' may well be one of those albums that could be perceived as a total masterpiece by one with an ear attuned enough to doom metal to appreciate it. While I have dabbled in the realm of doom before (from the likes of early Anathema and Katatonia to Shades Of Despair and Draconian) I've been able to see real beauty in some of the music the genre spits out, but above anything, its a real hit-or-miss deal. If something doesn't work, it really won't work. 'Requiem' definately had alot of thought put into it, but in the end; a few shortcomings in the work truly mar what might have been a landmark doom record.

When I speak of the 'thought' and effort put into the making of it, its important to know that the band went as far as to enlist the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra (generally perceived to be Austrailia's flagship philharmonic) and choral sections to add to the sound. While this does certainly make 'Requiem' a much more worthy venture than other albums I've listened to, the rest of the mix hurts the orchestration alot. The guitar riffs are generally unimaginative save for a few precious arrangements, and the growl vocals are truly atrocious. While there are a few soprano operatic sections, and parts where the orchestra has room to breathe, these sections frankly aren't worth going through all of the monotonous guitar drone and grunting to get to them.

While it might be a suitable backdrop for a wintery, frostbitten evening, this depressing and dissapointing opus from Virgin Black will not appeal to many outside of the doom metal circle. I for one, can find stuff to appreciate here, and it's certainly not the worst album I've ever heard, but I would much rather delve into a more fulfilling record then this; as there are plenty out there that trump over this one.

bonnek Virgin Black’s second album is a 75 minute opus that should convince any remaining doubts that they mean business, big epic melodramatic business.

The result is still very satisfying but it’s become a less versatile album then the debut. It is quieter and more coherent but only seems to explore its dramatic Goth potential. The metal and progressive sides of the music have become less prominent. As it turned out, alternating metal-styled albums with more laidback material turned out to be something of a career choice for Virgin Black, quite similar to the US goth metallists of Christian Death, who must have been an obvious point of inspiration.

There are great pieces of music where looming doom-riffs and spacey blues guitar leads provide memorable moments as on The Kiss of God's Mouth and Cult of Crucifixion. But with only one mood to sustain for 75 minutes, the album is too long. The operatic 20 minute musical drama of Everlasting goes entirely over all bombastic peaks reached by other Goth bands before them. Quite an achievement that is. And they manage to do it while maintaining a really spooky and chilling atmosphere.

Virgin Black is a great band with more talent then 20 random Goth bands put together. Their inclusion of operatic metal and ambitious drama might sure make them an interesting listen if you’re attracted to the idea of progressive Goth rock. To be checked by lovers of Type O Negative, Therion and My Dying Bride.