Spain's Misty Grey have not had the best of luck with their vocalist's, the band first vocalist Malicia sported unique and sneery tones that kind of split listeners right down the middle with some really digging the band's proto doomic grooves but not warming to the distinctive vocal tones that fronted those grooves. Next came Bea, her tones were much easier on the ear and were better suited to the bands Pentagram inspired sound but lacked a little power at the top end. The Covid pandemic then saw the band forced to take some time out and during that time Bea parted ways with the band. It was three years before Misty Grey returned to the studio and their return saw the introduction of yet another new vocalist in the shape of Angel Flores who has, along with his keyboard skills, brought a more classic/traditional doom element to the bands sound, and it is with Flores at the mic that Misty Grey now release their latest and third full album "Visions After Void"..
Misty Grey's third full album opens with "
House by the River" and it is immediately apparent that the gothic edge the bands new vocalist brings to the party has had a major influence on the bands sound. The
proto-doom grooves of the bands first two albums are still in place but on this song, and those that follow, there is tendency to lean a little more heavily towards the more traditional end of the
doom spectrum, the overall sound a little less
Pentagram and a touch more
Candlemass. Don't be overly surprised either if your ears pick up on touches of
British goth rock while listening to songs like "
Hangmen Also Die", "
M" and "
Ministry of Fear",
goth and
doom have long shared many of the same characteristics and with the new singers vocals possessing (in places) not too dissimilar tones to those of
Bauhaus' Pete Murphy that
gothic vibe feels even more pronounced.
Doom is of course the overriding element of
Misty Grey's sound and they play that element to perfection, there is no harshness or brutality to be found among the seven songs that make up "
Visions After Void", there are no left turns into lysergic waters or sudden jumps into more extreme territories instead what you get is
doom as close to its original form as it is possible to get without coming across as generic or retro, and that is a rare thing these days.
Old school doom has become somewhat of a rare commodity these days, fans of the doom genre have become accustomed to having their doom served up with otherworldly psych, low slow stoner dynamics and swampy blackened sludge. With "Visions After Void" Misty Grey serve up doom with no other trimmings other than a side order of gothic flavoured atmospherics, and it makes for a very tasty dish indeed.
Check it out ....
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