The Dark Angel Divine
The Newchange
Mechanically Separated
Seems highly unfathomable that a band thanking – and, by extension, citing as influences – such high-profilers as Cradle of Filth, Type O Negative, My Dying Bride, and Moonspell in their liner notes could emerge from the humble burg of Vero Beach, but lo and behold, this month’s anomaly of grand proportions is Vero’s own the Dark Angel Divine. Presumably, The Newchange is the quintet’s debut, and as such, said influences seem readily apparent: Dani Filth’s dry wheeze gets a working over (actually, vox closer to a typical Swedish death-thrash rasp, but hey – close enough), low-rent keyboards on loan from Peter Steele and company, gutted but vaguely melodic guitars culled from M.D.B.’s Symphonaire Infernus, and one of the members looks mildly Portuguese, so there’s the Moonspell influence, I guess. Seriously, though, it’s refreshing to see gothic metal that’s well executed and not the least bit short on novel ideas coming from somewhere in Florida besides Tampa. And for that, I award Dark A.D. numerous high-fives.
Mechanically Separated, 2 Lamplighter Lane, Vero Beach, FL 32960; http://welcome.to/darkangeldivine
