Artrosis In The Flower's Shade CD

Perhaps more than any other era in the history of hard rock/heavy metal, the early 21st century has seen more and more bands comprised of a female singer fronting an all-male band (Arch Enemy, Otep, etc.). But the one female-fronted band to break through in a major way commercially during this time was Evanescence, a group with heavy goth leanings. It would be understandable to figure that the Polish band, Artrosis, is merely jumping on the Evanescence bandwagon after hearing their 2006 release, In the Flower's Shade. But the truth of the matter is that Artrosis has been in existence since 1995, and have issued a plethora of releases in their homeland. That said, the songs on In the Flower's Shade certainly sound cut from the same musical cloth as their stateside counterpart, especially on such tracks as "Unreal Story I" and "White Page," which merge heavy riffs, melodic singing, and airy keyboards. With In the Flower's Shade being one of their first albums receiving an official stateside release, fans of melodic/mainstream goth metal may soon be applying their eyeliner to the sounds of Artrosis. ~ Greg Prato

This is the English version of the third Artrosis album but with extra bonuses: picture gallery, discography and a video to "Among the Flowers and Shadows"! Artrosis, considered to be the best gothic band in Poland, presents 11 marvelous compositions making up one lyrical & musical whole. Medeahs vocal skills seem to improve with every new album and here her work exceeds anything she has done before. The English language makes her voice more "fluent" and soft. The multiple guitar solos make the record slightly varied in style and climate, though never too off-the-course of Artrosis' characteristic and unique atmosphere.

Artrosis: Medeah (vocals); Rafal Grunt (guitar); Maciej Niedzielski (keyboards); Marcin Pendowski (electric bass).

Additional personnel: Artur Dominik (djembe, tabla).