THE VISION BLEAK
Carpathia - Lim

THE VISION BLEAK return in grand style: The German duo's seventh full-length "Weird Tales" constitutes a monumental tribute to the eponymous American pulp magazine and other tales of mystery and dark imagination. The album consists of a single track that is divided into internal chapters, which are each inspired by weird tales, poems, and other literature of horror and the macabre. On "Weird Tales", THE VISION BLEAK are referring to eminent writers of the legendary magazine such as H. P. Lovecraft and Clark Ashton Smith, but also allude to authors that were never featured in the magazine, for example Edgar Allen Poe and Lafcadio Hearn, whose "Fantastics and Other Fancies" was very influential for this album. THE VISION BLEAK are pulling every register of their enormous musical prowess. The chapters range stylistically from flamboyant gothic rock via dark doom to harsh black and death metal parts – and about everything in between. All the thrilling elements that the following of the duo has come to expect and love is present on this record: the dramatic and theatrical, the harsh and heavy, the melancholic and eerie, and also catchy and symphonic moments. All of this is woven into a dense sonic tapestry, which is held together by a recurring ebb and flow that is reminiscent of classical composition. THE VISION BLEAK were born out of the friendship between guitarist, bass-player and harsh vocalist Markus Stock aka Ulf Theodor Schwadorf and drummer and singer Tobias Schönemann alias Allen B. Konstanz. After first experimenting with a more gothic rock formula, THE VISION BLEAK shaped up when the duo began to involve their mutual love for the horror genre. Already their debut album, "The Deathship Has a New Captain" (2004) became an instant success in both gothic and metal circles and is by now regarded as a classic. As the debut album's theme was based on classical horror movies, the Germans aptly dubbed their style: horror metal. With the following albums, THE VISION BLEAK cemented their reputation as purveyors of classy and quality music. Each full-length revolves around themes from the horror genre that can easily be deduced from their respective titles. "Carpathia" (2005) was followed by "The Wolves Go Hunt Their Prey (2007) and "Set Sail to Mystery (2010), "Witching Hour" (2013), and "The Unknown" (2016). THE VISION BLEAK, the masters of horror metal, are finally ready to gift the world their most ambitious song so far: "Weird Tales" is a beautiful and heartfelt homage to a poetic golden age of horror and mystery literature. Listen with care, but always be wary of the eldritch and forbidding sounds that lurk within this song!