Season’s End is often labeled as gothic metal, but their music is really a fusion of gothic, symphonic, and progressive metal with some of the most moving soundscapes one will ever hear. There are rousing keyboards and strings, tiers of crushing guitar riffs and slower and more emotive chords, and the pleasant duality of Becki Clark’s tender soprano and guitarist David Stanton’s clean male vocals. All this, along with the intricate song structures that stray from the normal verse/chorus format, makes Season’s End one of the more unique bands out there.

Of course, it always helps to have a brilliant opening track, and "Touch" provides that very first magic spark. The song starts off as mournful and spellbinding, with Becki’s double-tracked vocals showing the delicacy and beauty of her range. It then swells with emotion before doubling in tempo and escalating with thrilling guitars. The lyrics combine imagery ("Shroud me in flowers / Cover me in earth") with more straightforward lines ("Why has it been so long / Since you said that you loved me?") to convey sadness and lost love, two themes that are echoed throughout the album.

"Ghost in My Emotion," by far the most well-known song on the album, is another stellar track. David and Becky sing solo verses against quick, quiet guitar-picking and soft keyboards beneath their voices. Just when the track sounds quite relaxing, the listener is walloped with gravelly, split-second guitar riffs and the duet between David and Becky for the chorus. "Ghost" also takes some unexpected musical twists before breezing to its end, making it even more intriguing.

For the remainder of "The Failing Light," Season’s End continues to hone its distinctive sound. "Nothing After All" is brooding and battering, with Becki’s warbling layered over jackhammer-like intensity that teeters between progressive and power metal. The melancholic "One Sadness" is the most atmospheric song in the set. Even with some tempo changes and rhythmic guitarwork, the echoing keyboards and gothic overtones rise above the rest of the band. David Stanton sounds quite impressive on both songs, his British accent adding a hint of rough authenticity.

"Innocence" is Season’s End’s version of a power ballad. Deliberate and soaked in ambiance, it slowly draws in the listener and has a quiet, lingering effect that takes time to absorb. Becky gives a pristine delivery, full of longing that matches the reminiscent lyrics ("Trying to stare through the mists of the future / Erase the bliss that once was the past / Promises passed your lips with ease / Only to wither in time"). The other ballad is the album’s closing track, "Celestia," which begins as a majestic tale of loneliness, then evolves into a thunderous elegy. Although the somber lyrical themes are a bit dry at this point, it’s still a lovely song that deserves its spot on the album.

What makes "The Failing Light" even more impressive is its length – about 48 minutes, with each song passing the 5-minute mark. That time passes quickly, though, because each song is so interesting and strikingly beautiful. As a result, "The Failing Light" eludes the traps in which many gothic metal bands often fall. Season’s End has successfully thrown convention out the window with this release, offering perfectly balanced contrasts of bombast and intimacy, light and dark, and elegance and energy. Listeners will finish one rotation of this album and grasp what Season’s End is all about – and then go back to play it time and time again.

Bonus Features:

"The Failing Light" also features a full-length video clip of "Ghost in My Emotion." Watch the video online on Season’s End’s official YouTube channel:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7CKMIhUd00&feature=channel_page

9 / 10