Netherlands’ The Fifth Alliance is a doom/sludge band active since 2013, from what I can tell, because it’s the year of the release of their debut album, “Unrevealed Secrets of Ruin”. But today I’ll be reviewing their upcoming album, Death Poems, which will come out October 31st through Grains of Sand Records. The album also has touches of post and black metal to it.

It’s rather uncommon to hear a band in that genre that is led by a female singer. Here, Silvia delivers monotonous yet emotional screams that wouldn’t be out of place on a post-hardcore album. And at the very beginning of the album we can hear a glimpse of melodic vocals, too, which I wish they were exploited more. That would definitely bring a bit of fresh air to this monochrome album. But being monochromatic doesn’t mean it’s bad either. Their sense of heavy and melancholic composition is there and good, but the album just seems like one continuous song.

It’s low on experimentation, if there is any at all, and very low on variety too. Be ready to hear minor and diminished intervals for almost 40 minutes. Yet again, it’s not bad at all. They succeed in building some uneasy atmosphere that doesn’t feel oppressing, but on the contrary quite airy. This might have to do with the distortion used or the production, I’m not quite sure.

Overall, Death Poems is a solid yet monolithic album that will most probably get you to bang your head to the music. Don’t expect anything new, however.

A press copy of the album made this review possible.