Dreadful Shadows

Usually when a band borrows a page from the Sisters of Mercy they end up sounding dreadful. Not so for the Dreadful Shadows, who spark enough ingenuity into their music that they sound better than any of the off shoots that the Sisters have spawned, including the Mission. Their impressive second album follows the path set out in the Sisters' 1991 album, Vision Thing, with more overblown heavy metal guitar sounds — with a sense of suspense thrown in for good measure. Their German background adds to the much needed goth credibility and unexplainably adds in creating a dark atmosphere. While lyrically, they don't come close to the writings of Andrew Eldritch, they compensate with a deep German accent that would send chills up Eldritch's spine. Switch the names and you would almost believe that this is the much anticipated follow-up to Vision Thing.