Ah! An oldie, but goodie! An Album that is like a fine wine. It gets better with age. From time to time, I will be going back in time, and reviewing some older albums exclusively for Sonic Cathedral. It is usually my want, to write mostly about current releases, but there are some albums that I just cannot leave something unsaid about. "In the Flowers Shade" by Artrosis is just one of those albums. Masterpiece? I'll describe, you decide. ITFS was the first album I ever purchased by the band and it holds a special place in my heart. For I doubt, that Artrosis will ever again gain the apex of this release, especially the direction they have shown on their last two releases "Fetish" and "Mélange". Along with The Gathering, Artrosis were one of the bands that got me into femme rock to begin with. And, no matter what these two bands put out, good or bad, I will always purchase, just to hear, even once.

Medeah, where have you been, all my life? The voice of an angel amidst all of this devilish sound. Gothic Doom metal at its rawest. So sad and so depressing, yet so goddamn beautiful. I cannot understand a word you’re saying, even though you’re singing in English, but somehow I feel your pain and understand. Just read some of the lyrics in the booklet and you'll know what I mean. If you listen closely to Medeah's voice and lyric's, you will get the same feeling that I got, the first time I heard her sing these verses. Sorrow and despair amongst the backdrop of chugging guitars, and haunting atmospheric keys. The way you spread melancholy through your songs, just makes me want to cry with joy. Magdalena Doboz-Stupkiecz aka Medeah has a voice that is very sensitive, but can also be powerful and expressive. This, is her finest hour and everyone knows by now, who she and Artrosis are. There has been so much written about them. "In the Flowers Shade" has received 5 and 10 star reviews all over the Internet. All of the 12 tracks within this album flow together seamlessly to create one message. Sorrow and despair with a ton of heaviness with Medeah's voice offsetting it all. Joining Medeah for this once in a discography masterpiece are Maciej Niedzielski-Keyboards, Rafa Grunt-Guitar, MarcinPendowski-Bass and guest musician Artur Dominik-Tabla.

Though the line-up has changed over the years, I'm saddened, the direction the band has taken of late. I don't want to say that its bad music, cause its not. You have to be in to it. Just that I would have wanted to hear more like ITFS from Artrosis. Instead, what were getting these days is some kind of electronic techno pop akin to what The Gathering has given us, on their latest release, "Souvenirs". It seems to have the same effect of lulling me to sleep. And this happens to be just my opinion and not that of Sonic Cathedral, as stated on the opening page of this site. Anyway, I have this album to cherish by them, along with "In Nomine Noctis" and "Hidden Dimensions". So, if you have never heard "In the Flowers Shade", then you've been deprived of something special. It's in the store! What are you waiting for? Treat yourself to some sorrow and pain filled with joy! Oh yea, almost forgot. The extra PC stuff is biography material and a video of "Among Flowers and Shadows" which is also very dark and gloomy.