Even though I`m not the greatest black metal buff, every now and then I get the chance to lay my hands upon an album that`s really worth the mention. Displeased Records has just released "Psychotic Sculpture" from Americans Vesperian Sorrow, and this is such a case. So what makes this album so exceptional? Check out the first song ("Solitude") for instance; clocking over 10 minutes, it is a cavalcade of styles: not just black, but one can also find parts gothic, thrash, death, heavy metal and a whole lot of melody and skillful songwritership. But "Solitude" doesn`t stand on itself for that. The entire album is made out of songs that could easily beat its more famous Swedish counterparts, and with the large amount of breaks and style changes in the songs it is easy to sit out the full near-hour of music without getting bored. Ofcourse, it also helps to have different vocal styles (including female), but my main surprise is that they incorporated keyboards and a classical guitar in such a way that it doesn`t sound forced.

The keyboards are not there because a band like this `needs to have keyboards`, they are truly a part of the music - and the same for the guitars. Kudos for that; in that respect this band might have picked something up from the early Cradle Of Filth albums. And even though Cradle Of Filth might also be a reference point in the overall music and production value, I have to say that Psychotic Sculpture is far more interesting than CoFs last three albums. It`s hard to point out highlights on the album. My favourites are "Solitude", "Nebula Design" and "Astrodamatica", but most of the songs are as good as the others. If you stumble upon this album, don`t forget to check it out. There`s a lot to be heard and discovered on this album...