REVELATIONS OF RAIN is a Melodic/Doom Metal band from Moscow, Russia, and was conceived late in the year 2001. The band was put together by Ilya Remizov and Olesya Muromskaya, two members of Gothic Doom/Black Metal band OCEAN OF SORROW. After the band OCEAN OF SORROW sank in the year 2004, the two concentrated their efforts on REVELATIONS OF RAIN and released their debut album called "Marble Tones of Despair", which had Arsagor, the vocalist of Death/Black Metal band, GREY HEAVEN. In the year 2009 the band changed lead singers and released their second effort, "Revelations of Rain", with Forside as their vocalist. The year 2010 saw them release their third album, "The Emanation of Hatred", which featured Ilya Remizov and Vladimir Andreev sharing singing duties. The band had a different line-up when they released their fourth album, "Deceptive Virtue", and Arsagor was roped in as a guest vocalist. The lead guitar on this album was provided by Yuriy Ryzhov of SHALLOW RIVERS. The band has since said that their latest offering will have elements of Melodic Black Metal and Funeral Doom and they intend to not stick only to the Doom/Death Metal genre.

The first gloomy track is "Alter of Whores", which begins life with a simple haunting guitar melody and is soon coupled by a wailing guitar lead. Drums join the dismal party and it is almost midway into the first minute when despondent gravelly vocals break through. The melancholic guitar melody continues to usher the song forward all the while intermittently paired with spoken word bits. The song regains its disconsolate vibe during the latter part and it is sorrowfully splendid. "Through Phobetor's Night" starts off with a plodding mammoth mournful riff that sets the tempo for the rest of the song to live up to. The cavernous vocals make a worthy companion to the downcast and forlorn melody and the second half of the song is reduced to a stagnant sluggish lament. A slow deliberate bass doodle is the origin of "Instead of a Thousand Words" and it is quickly joined by a baleful guitar melody and it adds to the wistfulness of the track. A moody guitar lead along with a sedate drumbeat attaches itself to the melody as it moves along at the speed of a funeral wake. The entirely instrumental track moves at a glacial pace and is quite pleasant to listen to. "Root of All Evil" begins with a lucid melody before a violent riff pushes the song into a cheerless stupor. The song is one of the faster tracks on the album and is as unrelenting as it is aggressive. Doom riffs entwined with Groove elements gives this song a bipolar character. "On Snow Wings" is the last track of the album and it launches out with a Melodic riff before it copulates with evil rasping whispers. A skillful lead guitar solo follows and the melody slows down considerable. The Melodic riff from the beginning is heard again as it guides the song to its demise while gnarly vocals keep it company.

This album is the fifth album of REVELATIONS OF RAIN and it is a revelation indeed. The splendidly gloomy album has eerie riffs and the gravelly vocals add an aura of sheer despondency. Eight tracks of superb Doom/Funeral Metal that are well thought out and dark in nature. There are Melodic parts and Groove riffs that make for the lighter bits of the music, which is otherwise drenched in black and cloaked in grief. Even the quieter simpler melodies have a deep anguished despairing tone to it. This grim album is a must have for Doom/Death Metal fans.<