These gothrockers hail from Finland and like many of their countrymates, they know how to play, they can write decent songs even with some catchy hooks and choruses and the production is top notch. Still nothing wrong at this point eh? Well, that's the whole point, there is nothing 'wrong' with this, but it just doesn't cut it for me.

Soulrelic sound like fellow Finnish lovemetallers HIM, only without the hiccup vocals en with perhaps a bit more groove. It's a style they've mastered quite well actually and typical genre elements like piano's, synths, loops really add up without sounding overly cliché. There are also some female vocals present, no opera style thank god, but only as back-up.

In terms of songs, it's really a mixed bag. Opener 'Hollow Craving' is a typical 'HIM' song, with a catchy chorus, 'Dying Angel' is some sort of  heavy ballad, a track like 'Down On My Path' is a more up-tempo rocker with some heavy riffing and last but not least, we have the piano driven ballad type of song like 'The Rain Of Sorrow'. It quite effectively spans the whole genre (and its limitations) which admittedly makes up for at least not a boring listen. However some songs do tend to drag along a little.

To me, Soulrelic are at their best in tracks like 'Tears Of Deceit' which did remind me of the last Katatonia. A catchy and emotional chorus, a fine groove and heartfelt vocals really did put me up in my seat, but sadly it was the only song which did that for me. Add the fact that it was only just the 2nd track of the album, and you can imagine that the remaining eight songs were al little disappointing to me. It was not until the last track, 'Burned To Ashes', that some of that 'spirit' came back, due to the (again) Katatonia like chorus.

 

Followers of HIM, or maybe even Lacuna Coil, could certainly appreciate this album. It's decent gothrock, well produced, packs some good tunes and hooks but it doesn't really sound fresh or original at all. So if that's not an issue, then you should certainly listen to it.

I'm certainly not planning any frequent spinning of this disc, save for the second track, because it's just too bland and generic for me. I, of course, am not a fan of the genre but even in gothic rock things certainly can sound a bit edgier. Not as 'safe' and 'been there, done that' as this does.