The first thing I would like to make clear in this review is that this kind of music is not really what I would say my cup of tea. So, here we go...

KARMIC LINK is based in Athens, Greece, and it is a personal project of keyboardist Stathis Kassios, who is known for his participation in bands like the Swedish melodic Death Metal act SYSTEM SHOCK and the Greek legendary NIGHTFALL. The start was made in 2008 when the project's debut album "No Light But Rather Darkness Visible" was released by Thundering Records. Two years later, Stathis returns with his project's sophomore release with a new companion, Evan Hensley from Nashville, Tennessee.

KARMIC LINK's music can be described as melodic Progressive Metal with many Gothic elements. The music is mostly based on Stathis' keyboard melodies and some samples, since the riffs are pretty simple and seem to be mostly used to create a solid base for the keyboards and Mina's ethereal vocals. Only some melodic leads here and there make the guitar come to the forefront from time to time.

What I didn't really like was the sound with the totally fake and plastic drums that kind of spoiled the whole atmosphere. Anyway, if you are into this kind of sound you may find some interesting things in "Esoterica", otherwise start looking somewhere else.