Dargaard

Don’t let the fact that Dargaard are from Austria, or their CD cover art, fool you into thinking they are a dark metal act, quite the contrary, in fact. The songs are a beautiful collection of the gothic and neoclassical — music that will surely bring out the Dungeons and Dragons fanatic in all of you. Medieval times are called up as the harp strings ring out over lofty orchestral arrangements. Elisabeth Toriser supplies the potent vocals on most of the tracks, sounding like Enya one moment and the Mediæval Bæbes the next. Band-mate Tharen contributes his baritone here and there, as well as providing the musical accompaniment. Piano, flute, harp and countless other unidentifiable instruments make the pieces sound very robust, moving from delicate to grandiose and thunderous. Song titles like "In the Omnipresence of Death” and "Night Before the Vastland Storms” hint at the darker quality of these works, and the minor chord quotient gives the tunes that lovable spooky edge. This disc will bring out the long lost goth in all of you.