I keep asking myself: "what is it with Europe and Metal"? If you're a fan of Metal, it is not uncommon to associate melodic Death Metal with Sweden; Black Metal with Norway; Symphonic Metal with the Netherlands, and so on. I for one think every country deserves its own stalwart lineup of Metal bands; Spain, unfortunately, does not always jump to my mind. However, they have quite a gem in their burgeoning collection of bands, and that is the Gothic Metal act, RAINOVER. This band is everything one could ask for in Gothic Metal; a stunningly beautiful voice in the form of Andrea Casanova, majestic and atmospheric keyboard work, driving, mid-tempo riffage and melancholic melodies. The first thing that actually came to my mind was: "Wow, this band sounds a lot like LACUNA COIL and RAVENSCRY"; of both I am a big fan.

RAINOVER's album, (it's a mouthful!), "Transcending The Blue And Drifting Into Rebirth" has many of these elements. However, let me begin by saying, I feel it unnecessary to detail all of the tracks; after a while, it starts to feel same-y. The opening track, "Rebirth", opens with a wistful guitar / keyboards melody, and soon draws us into Casanova's beautiful vocals, which, to be perfectly honest, sent chills down my spine. The control she has over vibrato makes her voice sound operatic, even though she is not singing opera. The song, aside from her vocals, is unfortunately 'alright'. It's not a bad song, but it's doesn't have that right punch that a title track should have. "Despair" is a nice and unusual change; opening up with a melodious lyric from Casanova, there is an effective build up into some classic, grooving riffage. The verses feature predominantly bass, drum and keyboards' work; this works well to project Casanova's voice. The chorus contains something a little odd, that I cannot decide on if I like or not; male vocals; both clean and coarse. Again, I am hearing strong LACUNA COIL influences, as, minus growls, employ similar male vocals. The only weaknesses I can attribute to this song are the growls, because that's how they sound: weak.

"Cycles" is yet another song that offers something new. The instrumentation is, predictably, much the same is before; however, this song features predominantly male clean vocals in the verses; they are no Power Metal wails, but they are tolerable and offer nice interplay with the female cleans. "H2SO4" is a bit of an odd title! Again, a song that sets itself apart. It is very upbeat, almost reminiscent of 80s Pop / Dance music; combined with the female vocals, it is probably the catchiest song on the album, and one of my favorites. And I can't stand dance music, or dancing. Unfortunately, the most interesting songs are only in the first half of the album; before listening, seeing the 6+ minute length of the closing track, "Remembrances", got me a little excited. Upon listening to it, I was for the first time in 6 songs, pleasantly surprised; It contained interesting dynamics and a lovely vocal melody in the chorus.

All in all, this is a stock-standard Gothic Metal album. If you are die-hard fan of the genre, you will probably like it. For a relatively underground / unknown band, the mixing quality is superb; I can hear everything and I can hear it well. I definitely conclude that the singer makes this band; however, the growler does not.