Formed in Italy in 2009, BLACKENED SYMPHONY is a Melodic/Electronic Groove Metal band. Their self-titled album here is their third, and contains ten tracks. "Slave of Ourselves" is a charming opening instrumental, with smooth piano notes and a little symphony in the background. It segues into the track "Chain," which was the first single. Electronic/Symphonic elements abound but the main guitar riff leads the rhythm. Vocals alternate between clean and dirty and the chorus is alluring in an almost Gothic manner. Perhaps the low range of the clean vocals provides some of this context. "Looking Through Suicide" is a bit longer, in the mid-tempo pace and with plenty of Death vocals to go along with the cleans. It's just a little thin at times however, although the song has a great sound overall. Spacy keys lead the intro to "Frozen Sun," and they do a nice job of building the sound. There's a lot going on here and it is full of meaty riffs, continued keyboard presence and varied vocal styles. This is definitely a stand out track on the album for me.

"Like A Butterfly's Life" is an alluring power ballad of sorts, with emotive vocals and thin supporting instrumentation. It has a sweet center augmented by the bossy distorted guitar strikes. "Self Control" is a little bit of the band H.I.M. on steroids. Electronica maintains a presence along with the guitars and it has an ominous sort of depressing sound overall. Still, a very good listen. "Rebellion" is another track with the guitars and keys working well together. I especially like the piano and the blast kick drum notes to go along with the Death vocals. It makes for a heavy affair that is still fun to listen to. They tie in a lot of different elements here quite nicely. "One Day" is the burner I was waiting for on the album. With a quickened pace, it takes on a new life, like a hungry wolf pack leader emerging from the edges of the forest to hand you your fate by his claws and razor sharp teeth. "40 Seasons" closes the album. There is a good combination of racing keyboard melodies, emotional vocals, and charged guitar and bass rhythms.

Overall this was an enjoyable album from start to finish. Falling somewhere under the Melodic Death Metal umbrella, but with Gothic vocal elements and a good deal of electronica, you need to appreciate what keys and piano can add to music, which I very much do. My only criticism might be that too many of the songs fall into a mid-tempo range. It doesn't detract from the song being good itself, but can make the album stagnant at times. However with all that aside, I recommend the album for its merits, and this is a band I will be keeping track of for future endeavors.