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Flowing Tears > Serpentine > Reviews
Flowing Tears - Serpentine

Dark rock does not get much better than this - 78%

lukretion, October 3rd, 2022
Written based on this version: 2002, CD, Century Media Records

After shortening their name from Flowing Tears & Withered Flowers simply to Flowing Tears, this German band started carving their way into the world of gothic metal, leaving behind the snail-paced tempos and weeping gloom of their doomy origins. Serpentine is the band’s second album under the Flowing Tears banner, the fourth overall counting also the two LPs released with their former moniker. The line-up has shrunk compared to their previous album Jade. Guitarist Manfred Bersin and keyboard player Mike Volz left the band between the two records, and drummer Eric Hilt is replaced by Stefan Gemballa., while David Buballa (who is credited for pre-production) lends a hand with the keyboards and samples (guitarist Benjamin Buss took charge of samples and programming as well).

In terms of sound, the new album is not miles away from the band’s previous record Jade. Flowing Tears play a melodic and atmospheric form of gothic metal. Bands like Tiamat, The Gathering, Lacuna Coil but also Katatonia are all useful references to trace the coordinates of the band’s sound, although the Germans reinterpret these influences with personality, for a final product that feels personal and original. The songs are mostly up-tempo and played with good energy – so this is not your typical sadboi gothic woe that is on offer here. The music is built around the interplay between guitars and keyboards. The former mostly use power chords and arpeggios, occasionally throwing in some unexpected chord progression (“Starfish Ride”) and interesting dissonance (“The Marching Sane”), while the keyboards are used to add background layers in the form of loops, sound and or strings. The outcome is a sound that feels modern, lush and spacious, leaving room for what is Flowing Tears’ most distinctive aspect: Stefanie Duchêne’s beautiful vocal delivery. Her voice is full and deep and her singing approach is gritty and down-to-earth, quite the opposite of the ethereal soprano style that is often associated with gothic metal. Her vocal melodies are definitely one of the main attractions of the album, and the instrumental background is shaped perfectly to let the spotlight shine on them.

I also like the fact that Flowing Tears do not simply rest on a comfortable verse-chorus songwriting, writing one hook per song and job done. There is a distinct sense of artistry running through the album’s 12 songs. This transpires both in how Flowing Tears do not seem terribly bothered about writing straightforward song structures, but rather let each song take the course that best fits its atmosphere. Choruses are sometimes delayed, or repeated only a few times before the song takes a different course. We are not talking about hypercomplex structures in the sense of progressive metal, but structures that are just non-linear enough to keep things more interesting than what you would normally find on a run-of-the-mill goth metal/rock platter. I also enjoyed the attempt to inject some variation in the tracklist, alternating songs where different influences are brought to the fore, from psychedelia, to electro-goth, to atmospheric rock. The result is an album that feels varied and sophisticated, without necessarily losing in immediacy and effectiveness.

Serpentine offers a fun and engaging listening experience. The only gripe I have with this album is that its first half is noticeably stronger than the second half, where the melodies are a bit duller and less interesting than those we can hear on songs like “Starfish Ride”, “Children of the Sun”, or “The Marching Sane”. In retrospect, Flowing Tears would have been better off binning two or three of the weaker tracks that appear later in the album (“Breach”, “Cupid of the Carrion Kind”, “For Tonight”), although this may have felt like there wasn’t enough material for a full-length, since the album is already only above 40 minutes of length including all its 12 songs. This seems to be a recurring issue for the band, as their previous records Jade also suffered from the alternation of fillers and awesome tracks.

All in all, Serpentine is a strong album that is just not consistent enough to deserve an “essential listening” rating. It does get damn closer, however. If you are a fan of dark metal and atmospheric rock with gothic tinges, this album may just prove fairly irresistible, especially if you focus on the first 5 songs and are not too bothered by the slightly less spectacular second half of the record.

Solid release! - 88%

grimdoom, July 18th, 2008

Flowing Tears review for Serpentine





Flowing Tears is one of a few original Gothic Metal bands wandering the Metal scene today. They're unique take on chord progression and structure coupled with their singers’ very different voice and their usages of samples makes for one melodically bombastic album.

The production is more on par with a debut or a good demo, but its far from bad. The guitars are an interesting mix of Doom and Goth blending an assortment effects and rhythms into an original yet easily digestible soup. There are no solos but the leads are haunting. There are parts of the music that remind one of mid period 'Novembers Doom' and 'Anathema'. Surprisingly however, this band isn't Doom in any way. The songs are about even in their muted to open chord passages.

The bass does some interesting things here and there but mostly follows the guitars. The Drums on the other hand are very well excited and tight. The rhythms they put out are very classy and heavily rooted in old school Doomdeath.

The keyboards and samples (done by the guitarist) are mostly used for subtle effects and moods. They are never dominate but always present. The vocals are unique, not because they are done by a female, but rather that they are deep and somewhat bass heavy. This is in stark contrast to the legions of Christina and Tarja clones flooding the scene today. While not the best singer, she works well with the songs as a whole.

Over all the songs are a mixture of beauty, silliness and sorrow. The lyrics are kind of strange and the singers grip on English is shaky at best, but this is very different and very good music. There is a energetic vibe that is overlapped by thick layers of regret and teen angst and introspective doubt.

This is something that everyone can get into as they sound like no other. Granted that the middle of the album isn't as interesting as the beginning; there is a lot going on in this fairly simplistic yet very rocking music.