This is the second installment of Dan Swano's gothic project "Nightingale", and if you enjoyed the first one, you'll surely enjoy this one. Those unfamiliar with this music should be warned though, it's not metal, it's only moderatley heavy and hard, it's quite dark however, the whole idea behind gothic. Darkness entails it's low sound, and the atmospheric nature of the sound; excellent music to just sit back and relax to. Many often say this genre of music is simply pop music in disguise, and to be quite honest, Dan sways too far in that direction at a few points in this album. Nightingale puts an increased emphasis on melody, to be accompanied by the excellent voice of Swano. Sounding more dominant in providng beat than the drums, is the bass. Offering fairly simple patterns it holds the relatively simple music together. You won't hear any extremely complex riffing or soloing around here. "The Closing Chronicles" dervies it's quality from the structure of the song, the timings of the much less than complex riffs, and an effective use of synth (or piano as the case may be). Often the simplist of music is quite mesmorizing, and this album, with a little help from a dark room and soft chair, can easily send you to some other state of awareness. Don't get this album though unless you really like this genre of music. If you aren't in the right mood, or you just like metal, the music sounds bland and very repetitive. Okay, some parts are fairly repetitive regardless of how you feel about the music. "The Closing Chronicles", as did the previous Nightingale release, appeals to a select audience, many of whom will be found outside the metal genres. So don't get this just because Dan Swano did it, if your expecting anything like any of his other projects, you'll be sadly disappointed; if you're looking for something softer and less complex than his other projects, then maybe it's worth a try.
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