Радиус / Radius - На Полпути / Halfway (2010) - Gothic trademarks with a few modern experiments - 75% (30/06/13)

Radius is a side project by the Russian singers Vladimir Radionov and Anastasia Simanskaya who already worked together in the melodic power metal band Citadel. Radius are though much more gothic metal inspired but they still have a small heavy and power Metal touch in their sound. They employ a few electronic samples, some piano melodies and a slightly modern touch but all these elements aren’t overused and only details. The songs are melodic and catchy and sound more elegant and positive than many other gothic metal bands apart of the closing track that is a little bit darker and employs an almost apocalyptic atmosphere one would rather expect from Dimmu Borgir or Therion. But this band is of course far away from the quality of these Scandinavian legends and should rather be compared to genre bands such as Lacrimas Profundere or Lord Of the Lost and would be welcome additions to festivals such as the Amphi, Castle Rock, M’era Luna and so on.

The first song surprises with the fact that both singers sing exactly at the same time. This modern and almost radio friendly gothic rock track impresses with melancholic but still harmonious melodies. I especially appreciate the fact that the grounded voice of Radionow and the higher pitched but never too dramatic vocals of Simanskaya harmonize so well together and make this track rather catchy. It’s probably the strongest song on this short EP even though it has no big surprises despite a well done modern bridge that almost reminds me of Linkin Park. It’s just a simple hit track with great melodies and well crafted vocals. Even though this track is in Russian, I feel like singing along to this track. My Russian is quite rusty, though and it might sound terrible.

At the same time, the song introduces us also to the main problem of this release a part of its short length. The sound quality is awful and not dynamical at all. The instruments sound a little bit lifeless apart of a few guitar parts. This is not due to a bad song writing but due to a bad production.

The second track on here is more dramatic and also heavier than the first track. This piece is dominated by the dark male vocals that are so low that they are only one step away from throat chants at some points. The verses are rather soft and based on a more limited instrumentation. The female voice sings a few angelic background choirs. Acoustic guitars are mixed with modern keyboard sounds while the chorus is heavier. In these parts, female and male vocals perform together and create once again a quite catchy hook. This second song delivers all genre Trademarks fans are waiting for but it even goes further and sounds quite creative.

The last song is heavier and sounds a little bit like any gothic rock or metal band these days. The male vocals have some almost rap influenced parts and spoken word moments that don’t please me. The chorus is performed by female and male vocals and quite catchy once again but it works less than in the other two songs. It’s probably the song I like less on this release because it sounds a Little bit too Commercial and modern to me. On the other side, I have never heard any gothic band do an experiment like this and the band deserves at least some credit for the courage to put this Kind of song on their first release. You have to be very open-minded to like this and I must admit it's not quite my cup of tea.

In the end, any fan of modern gothic metal should give this a try. While the band deals with all Trademarks of the gothic scene, they have the creativity and talent to explore yet undiscovered grounds. The first full length release will tell us more about These Qualities. The band’s biggest strengths are the good balance between female and male vocals and the catchy choruses on here. Fans of the aforementioned bands should try these Russians out as well.

Originally written for The Metal Observer