Intriguing proposal from Grimfaith, a Ukrainian combo grappling with a nuanced gothic metal that makes it so far from obvious. Preacher Creature might make genre purists turn up their noses a bit, in light of the numerous electronic references that enrich, in my opinion, the album by sometimes moving the sound in the vicinity of the best Deathstars, while maintaining compared to the Swedes a more melodic and intimate vein. The modernist approach of a track like E.V.O.-3: Cyberlover could be used as an example to testify concretely to what has been said so far: a beginning marked by a persuasive voice that gradually hardens and becomes deeper, recreating the timbres that have made the fortune of Ribeiro and Steele, without losing a magniloquent melodic taste in the meantime. The subsequent Saint-Demonic Smile Or Sex In Heaven is another of the album’s peaks, with its airy orchestral openings and a peculiar ending worthy of the madness of a Devin Townsend. It is hard to refrain from citing certain similarities because Grimfaith appear able to draw here and there provoking the game of cross-references while equally maintaining a compelling and sufficiently personal songrwriting to the end. In summary, these Ukrainian guys are really good, occasionally pushing the dangerous boundaries of tawdryness (Radioactive Rain) while always managing to pull themselves out of harm’s way before it’s too late, but their sometimes swirling mix is always united by a first-rate melodic sense, which makes each track readily memorable and never boring. Paradoxically, despite a number of tracks with a remarkable pull and undoubted commercial potential, ours chose as the album’s driving video the concluding title track, which is far from despicable but somewhat predictable as well as unrepresentative of the band’s real depth and style. However, Grimfaith turn out to be a pleasant discovery, at least for our lands, since the Kiev quintet has been around since 2005 and also has another full length to its credit (Grime – 2008), and Preacher Creature is a highly recommended work for those who prefer gothic metal a little less dreamy and more imbued with electronic pulses.

2013 – BadMoodMan Music