I called today, but missed you again : today's the day I go up in flames.

I decided to stick with the ladies for this week, though if I'm honest there was plenty of fellas involved because most of what I listened to this week fell under the 'Beauty & The Beast' umbrella. Which, for those who aren't in the know, consists of two or more forms of contrasting, sometimes simultaneous singing, usually male growls and female soprano/alto or male tenor, including multiple variations thereof. When it works, it's really really good, when it doesn't it's really really goofy. For my money, nobody did it better than Theatre of Tragedy, and pretty much all the bands that followed suit fell short. My choices were bands that I knew of way back then, but never really paid that much attention to them, I knew maybe a song or two at best.

Day 47 - Sirenia - '1977' 

Never listened to them before. This was... eh... good, found the singer's voice to be only OK-ish at best, maybe a 6.5/10
Day 48 - Tristania - 'Darkest White' 

I only knew a song by them - 'Deadlocked' - which I love. This one? Wholly forgettable. Poppy at points, very meh. A whopping 5/10

Day 49 - Dreams Of Sanity - 'Komödia'

The only thing I ever knew about this band was that one of Therion's female singers - Martina Hornbacher - had been a part of it. Never felt the interest to pursue them. Missed out, for sure. This was really good, with  the kind of subpar mid-to late 90's production I miss, and that really scratches a weird itch. Be that as it may, had I listened to this back in the day, I would've loved is just as much. Fully deserving of a 9/10

Day 50 - The Sins of Thy Beloved - 'Lake of Sorrow' 

Meh... this is Theatre of Tragedy lite, with some passages that seem lifted directly from the first couple of albums. A good song here and there. 6/10

Day 51 - Trail Of Tears - Another one that was almost completely forgettable. Maybe a couple of good songs? I can’t even remember. 5/10

Day 52 - Kari Rueslåtten - 'Sørgekåpe'

Kari, she of The 3rd and the Mortal fame. She of the sweetest voice I ever heard. She, whose voice I searched for in many singers and never found. Not even in her, in fact. I recall some twenty years ago or more listening to some of her solo output and I couldn't even tell it was her who was singing. I never sought her after that. And what can I say about this, her latest record? Beautiful, delicate, and though I can't understand a word of it, here and there I could hear a bit of that sweetness in her voice I knew of old. And, strangely enough, I was also very reminded - both vocally and instrumentally - of Valravn in spots. And at just 38 minutes long, it really does not overstay its welcome. The second 9/10 of the week.

Day 53 - Liv Kristine - 'Amor Vincit Omnia'

Liv Kristine was, of course, Theatre of Tragedy's 'beauty'. I remember buying her first solo album back in 1998, and not really enjoying it. Sure, it had a very poppy collaboration with Nick Holmes of Paradise Lost, right when they were smack dab in the middle of their electronic era, but the rest of the album I just found a bit too dull. Never listened to it since that one time. And now here I am listening to her latest. And it starts off pretty well - the song that shares it title with the name of the album - harks back to her Theatre of Tragedy sound, with male growls provided by husband Michael - and I'll admit at first listen I thought they were by Raymond, who was Theatre of Tragedy's 'Beast'. But my hopes of a full album in such a kind of metal were soon dashed. The album is certainly diverse in terms of how the songs are, and some of it is good, other bits are just ok. It's just my opinion, and it's worth what its' worth, but I find Liv's voice peaked in Aégis - songs like 'Cassandra', 'Siren' and 'Venus' are just so goddamn beautiful. I'm not sure what I was expecting, and I'm not really disappointed, but for some reason... I found it a bit lacking. It does end on a positive note, though. It's a 7/10

I want to stay at least one more week with ladies before I do something that will be (mostly) hard and painful. Problem is I can't think of many more that would make some sort of sense because they'd likely not sound anything like each other, in terms of music styles. I dunno yet. We'll see.