Rain Paint, an ensemble from Finland, released their first record on the Italian label My Kingdom Music. The band sprung forth from Prophet and Fragile Hollow. The songs band leader Aleksi Ahokas wrote didn’t fit these bands so he decided to create Rain Paint.

Nihil Nisi Mors delivers us melodic melancholic metal, which sometimes reminds of bands like Opeth, Katatonia and the likes. The tracks are long and full of emotions, but sometimes lack a sense of tension and are not memorable enough to make a lasting impression. Overall, the music is mid-tempo melodic rock/metal with some doomy parts. The tracks I like most are the heavier ones, like for instance “Death, Drive & Fear”, which features some grunts and some excellent guitar work.

The voice of singer/guitar-player/bass-player Aleksi Ahokas is one not everyone will find to his or her liking.

Personally, I think he`s not a very remarkable singer. He has this very thick accent which is not easy to listen to. Fortunately there are also a couple of guest singers: Micko Hell from Denigrate and Henri Villberg from Rapture, who actually do a better job than Aleksi.

In conclusion, this is not a bad cd and it has its moments but in the end the annoying vocal parts spoil the fun too much. If you`re into Opeth, Katatonia and maybe even My Dying Bride you could give it a try, but the aforementioned bands are better so I doubt it will be worth your effort and money. Hopefully their next release will see some growth, because I believe the band can do way better than this.