This is the side goth-tinged doom metal project from the masterminds behind the unique melo-death metal project Godgory, Matte and Erik Andersson. ‘Incarcerated Sorrows’ is their second outing, and it is pretty damn good. Very melodic and catchy, making it a worthy album for everyone. I’m thinking that this album will be in my 15 favorite albums of the year. I believe that it’s one of the best goth-metal albums ever created. It’s a fantastic album… …But that was before I believe I listened to it one too many times. Upon my next-to-last listen, my feelings became mixed. On my last listen, I was sure of it: this is not that great an album. Don’t get me wrong, many will like this album, no doubt. Unfortunately, it just sounds the same after a while with little variation. And then I realized that unlike Godgory, Grave Flowers isn’t all that unique in my mind. It’s a sound that’s been played out. Tiamat did it with ‘Wildhoney,’ but with the growls. Katatonia had similar though with more of a mainstream sound with ‘Discouraged Ones’ through ‘Last Fair Deal Gone Down.’ Not a bad thing, but it can get tiresome after several listens. Once again, a mediocre album arises from what I believed to be a great album. That doesn’t mean it’s a bad album. It is good, it’s just a tired style that will have some fans and have some wondering why they bought it.

The second song, “Lackrosy,” though the most mellow song on the album, is surprisingly the catchiest and best song on here. The main highlights of the album are “At Night,” “Lackrosy,” “Sleep Demons Sleep,” and “Cold Despair,” and that’s because they give some uniqueness and depth to the album, just not enough to set it apart. The epic “Your Memory Lives On” has a great finale, very melodic yet powerful. This should have been the closer. Don’t get me wrong, “My Final Night” is a good song, just doesn’t work as the closer. Many of these songs should have just been released on separate EPs, as they don’t work real well as a full album. That’s really all there is to say. Brilliance doesn’t pop its head in too often here, but it is still a solid effort.

The musicianship throughout is pretty good. They have a solid, tight sound. And the production fits the music and the mood really well. It’s just a shame that both aspects aren’t used to their full affect. So, check it out, see what you think personally. Just don’t expect anything big or phenomenal but expect something that has been done and you can listen to once in a while.

[This review was first published on the now defunct scandinavianmetal.info webzine]