Nostalgic Gothic Metal with Folkloristic and Symphonic Sounds - A Review of Nì Yù's Hidden Depression

匿郁 is pronounced Nì Yù and roughly translates to Hidden. The gothic metal band hails from Lanzhou in Gansu Province and has been around for five years now. The band's first release is an extended play entitled Hidden Depression. It has been released digitally and offers four songs with a total running time of nineteen minutes.

The band recalls numerous commercially successful gothic metal bands from the early years of the millennium such as After Forever, Epica and Within Temptation. A more contemporary reference would be excellent symphonic metal band Mysterain that also hails from China.

This band here offers quite some diversity. Some songs have elegant symphonic keyboard arrangements that evoke cinematic, epic and magical atmospheres. Other tunes decently incorporate Eastern Asian folk sounds to take listeners on an auditory voyage back in time. The vocals also offer numerous changes as the female lead singer perfectly performs classically trained operatic vocals as well as more grounded melodic vocals and always finds a harmonious balance between both styles. The additional male vocals aren't as spectacular on their own but the occasional growls or whispers provide further contrast and add much atmospheric depth.

Despite all this diversity, the band never sounds all over the place. This is first of all due to a decent production that makes every vocalist and musician shine. Even the vibrant bass guitar is always audible and the mid-pace drum play offers more and more details after numerous spins. Up next, the band essentially plays mid-paced heavy metal if you take away the folkloristic, gothic and symphonic backdrops. That style might not be too complex or technical but it certainly is dynamic and engaging and sets the perfect basis for the band's numerous sonic experiments.

This very positive first impression is completed by lyrics that are mostly in English but also offer some parts in Mandarin Chinese which once again underlines the band's excellent sense for balance. The atmospheric cover artwork is the cherry atop the gothic metal cake and would also make a wonderful design for a flag, poster or shirt.

At the end of the day, Hidden's debut release offers very solid gothic metal that should please fans who grew up listening to the aforementioned bands in the early years of the millennium. The band offers a balanced mixture of folkloristic and symphonic elements that should also please to fans of these estimated sub-genres. While the instrumental work and varied additional male vocals are convincing, the female lead vocals are the true highlight of this release. They sound both fresh and talented as they find an excellent balance between classically trained operatic vocals and grounded melodic passages. Genre fans should certainly keep an eye on this band and support this overlooked group from the Chinese underground that should certainly please audiences from all around the world.

Final Rating: 80%