"Streben" is the denomination for a philosophic and literary ethic of German Romanticism and it means the spiritual tension derivated from the longing to transcend the bonds of material reality.

That's the definition of the name this Italian duet chose to give to its unity. After a self produced demo in 2008, COLD EMPIRE's Valker and Cristina Hagalaz signed a contract with the German label Naturmacht Productions for the release of their first ever full-length album, "Wild Enchanted Gardens". Let me not that all the music and the lyrics have been written by the beautiful lady singing in this album, Mrs. Cristina Hagalaz.

The album starts with a calm intro that paves the way for the band's melodic and atmospheric Black Metal sound. Their style is similar to bands like CRADLE OF FILTH (I hate to say it but Cristina's harsh vocals sound like a bad Dani Filth) and ILLNATH with epic passages, melodic guitars and majestic keyboards that are trying to add a unique atmosphere to each of the songs. The bad thing about this band is that it may have some interesting ideas and attract at the beginning, but after some listening sessions you will find some parts really monotonous.

My humble opinion is that if Cristina works a bit on her vocals and the band tightens the song structures a bit, we will be talking about a really good atmospheric Black Metal band.
<