In Heaven come from the beautiful, full of mysticism Greek island of Crete. The music is very rhythmic, it possesses a very strong sense of melody and it is by definition full of mysticism. From their very first song, Thoughts, they make it clear that they are very eager to grab the listener's attention from the beginning and they achieve that quite well. You will find elements in them from band like Theatre of Tragedy, Sisters Of Mercy, Sentenced and other beautiful stuff, even Therapy?! The use of female vocals make the album particularly interesting and appealing.
You must also note that the music is composed by Manolis Varouhas while the lyrics are co-written by both Manolis and Elvira. Archangel was recorded in The Dark Room Studio. The artwork was performed by Elias Kontoyiannis and the album was mixed & mastered by Mihalis Rinakakis. You must also note that the album was re-mastered by Sakis (an of course we are not referring to the Vodafon guy but the Rotting one)!
You must definitely pay attention to the vocals of Elvira Mitraka since they are really ethereal and clearly almost majestic thus they will definitely touch you. There is also extensive use of keys which adds a special atmosphere and creates an extensive background mood of melancholy all over the album. Maybe the use of more guitar leads would add more musical diversity and definitely a more Rock touch for In Heaven. Many layers of distorted guitar preserve the Rock side of the album, while on the whole you can classify this album (even if the word "classification sounds quite silly in my opinion) in a kind of Gothic/melancholic genre.
The music could not be completely characterized as innovative or extra pioneering since the basic motives belong to the Gothic genre and may seem semi-familiar to your ears but these guys seem to be honest in what they do and that is the reason Darchangel sounds true and real. The band has also participated in the compilation called Chapter I - The Iron Force with their song Betrayed.
All the best of luck to these young praisers of melancholy and human sorrow and may the tears of time turn to diamonds for them as the march forward!
- Album Highlights: Thoughts, Betrayed, Angel Of Darkness, Lie To Me and In Heaven.