After a 40-second piano "Prelude", the listener of Amos' Gothic Soul is treated to some very dreary gothic metal on the first song "In The Storm". I like this CD. It's dark. It's not the usual keyboard-driven sludge that every so-called "gothic" band is putting out nowadays. This has more of a feel of Saviour Machine's 1990 demo, which itself was more metal-driven than what they put out in later years. Even though Amos doesn't have the same level of musical expertise that Saviour Machine does (who does, really?), this is still a very well-played piece of dark art. Although it may turn some off to the more metal-driven aspects of the disc (especially on "Promise", which starts off with a very metal riff), so neo-Goths be ye warned.
Now, the lyrics. Very artistic, and very Bible-based. "In The Storm" is based on the incident recorded in Matthew 12:46-50, Luke 8:22-25 and Mark 4:35-41, Jesus calming the storm on the lake. "Stranger" touches, in a way reminiscent of Ecclesiastes, on the injustices in this world that we're not a part of. "Flower Of Blood" takes the imagery of a single rose blooming in a wasteland, and parallels it with the Holy Spirit blooming in one's heart. "Memories" is a touching acoustic ode mourning the passing of a friend. "Evil Roots" seems to be ripped straight from Proverbs, that of money being the root of all evils.
Amos' Gothic Soul is a good solid 47-plus minutes of dark metal goth. Seems I've been tossing that word around in this review like a volleyball, but hey, if the shoe fits and all that.
8/10
Other coverage for this album
HM Magazine #97Reviewed by Matt MorrowAfter selling out of their first pressing of Gothic Soul, Amos has re-issued a re-mastered version of this great album with three bonus tracks and new artwork. This Brazilian band plays progressive, doomy gothic metal with plenty of melody and emotion. Amos has been together for around eight years, and it shows, as musically they are a pretty tight unit. The guitar work of Helder Domingues and…HM Magazine #81Reviewed by David M. PoggeThis is Gothic metal coming at you all the way from Brazil. Don't think Marilyn Manson, though. These Brazilian Goth rockers know a lot more about the true gothic sound than the commercial pop star that masquerades as "goth" ever could. The instrumentation will impress you, to say the least, and the vocals will chill you to the core . This eight-song release from the other American continent will…Similar sounding releases
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