Published: September 28, 2013

Coming from Ukraine, Vin de Mia Trix, have just landed their debut full-length, entitled Once Hidden From Sight. The doom/death band is encompassing all the virtues of the first albums of bands such as Anathema and Paradise Lost along with the devastating melancholy of My Dying Bride. Combined with a more melodic approach towards the doom/death genre, the band is brought closer in style also with acts such as Saturnus.

The opening track has a very strong My Dying Bride presence; with the guitars unleashing all their weight, while at the same time the mournful melodies are hitting the right spot. The use of both clean vocals, which are especially nice when they are used as spoken parts in order to create a more complete atmosphere, and deep growls, which are used as the main vocals, is creating a great contrast. There are even parts in “A Study In Scarlet” when the band even undertakes a more paranoid face, as is the case about six and a half minutes into the song. Of course Vin de Mia Trix also have their more disturbing side, something that becomes apparent from the intro of “Nowhere is Here” with the track becoming absolutely massive and continues to build with its interesting progression. The band has a very good grasp on how to use their dynamics to make this journey more intriguing.

That is when the first instrumental track appears. In “La ou le reve et le jour s’effleurerent”, loosely translated: “Where Dream and Day Touch” is a piano performance, very nicely arranged. The track manages to build an emotional aura while still preserving the haunting side of the band’s music. The case is pretty similar with “La Persistencia de la Memoir” with a sinister and at the same time sorrowful character hovering over the track.

One of the aspects of the band’s music that I found intriguing was the bass sound. It is not your typical doom/death voice. That much is made perfectly clear when you have a listen “The Sleep of Reason”. The bass is very prominent in this track while the guitars resume their mournful forms. What makes “The Sleep of Reason” stand out even more is the excellent groove that the band is implementing which lifts the whole track, making it easily one of the highlights of the album. The song ties in perfectly with “The Silent World” that follows. With the clean voices kicking things off and the heavy sound always present, the band dwells even deeper within their emotional and melodic side without forgetting about their doom/death fury along the way.

On the last two songs of the album, Vin de Mia Trix, are really looking to make an impression. “Metamorphosis” sees the band taking on their most aggressive and unforgiving form with their sound even flirting at moments with an eerie black metal-y feeling, adding more color to their doom/death structure. And then there is of course the case of the closing track, “matr” where Vin de Mia Trix is set on building their most majestic and remarkable track. The slow pace is making the whole process more menacing, with the band trying to suffocate you with their torturous, devastating sound.

Once Hidden From Sight is a good debut album. The band has a few touches that gives them the edge over your standard doom/death act, and that is just their first release. In the future Vin De Mia Trix can really amaze us if they keep at it.