Value for money - A review of The Vision Bleak's "Timeline - An Introduction to The Vision Bleak"

''Timeline - An Introduction to The Vision Bleak'' is a great compilation for new fans and collectors that offers fourteen songs and eighty minutes of intense gothic metal or as the German duo would legitimately call it: horror metal. No band came ever closer to recreate the chilling atmosphere of classic horror tales, novels and films than The Vision Bleak which includes thousands of ambient, black, death and gothic metal bands out there. This stunning compilation covers all six studio records of this criminally underrated band, including their latest effort which was released simultaneously with this output.

This release features three songs from the excellent new record ''The Unknown'' where the band both covers new ground and preserves its unique own style and three tunes from one of the best records ever made which is the band's second opus magnum ''Carpathia - A Dramatic Poem''. All other four records are represented with two tunes in anti-chronological order. A lot of people tend to discuss the choice of songs for such a release and it might indeed have been interesting to include an exclusive tune, a forgotten track from the band's first demo or some live cuts but it's important to understand that this wasn't the purpose of this record. It's undoubtedly safe to say that this compilation is a balanced and detailed introduction without any lengths to all those poor souls who haven't witnessed the greatness of this band so far. This release includes thundering up-tempo tracks with diverse extreme metal influences such as ''From Wolf to Peacock'', slow and sinister gothic metal tunes like ''I Dined with the Swans'', gloomy gothic metal anthems with addicting choruses like ''By Our Brotherhood with Seth'', epic and nearly progressive symphonic metal compositions like ''The Charm is Done'' and more experimental tracks with narrative passages like ''Elizabeth Dane''. Despite being a compilation, this album has a strong atmospheric guiding line that characterizes the sound of this band. The flow is extraordinarily good for such a greatest hits record.

If you are not familiar with the band yet, if you are a faithful fan or if you simply need a compilation with some of the band's greatest songs for your car or workplace, the purchase of this release is absolutely mandatory. If you are unfamiliar with the band, let me also warmly recommend you to purchase the outstanding conceptual output ''Carpathia - A Dramatic Poem'' which must be listened to from start to finish to grasp its sheer beauty which makes this masterpiece my favorite album ever.

Final Rating: 98%