Symphonic Metal is one of those genres that, when it is done right, sounds absolutely immense. There's so much scope for a band to use the key tenets of the genre to create some truly interesting, unique and amazing music. If you follow, in chronological order, any given band that is dominating the scene at the moment throughout their career, you can definitely hear a strong musical progression which sees their sound, production and musicianship climb gradually to near stratospheric heights. The first NIGHTWISH and DELAIN releases, for example, sound a million miles away from their latest seminal offerings. The point I'm making is this; the first thing a band releases is likely to act more as a base on which to build a more eclectic, awe-inspiring sound in the future. VELAVERANTE's debut EP, "My Dark Images", illustrates this point greatly. The four songs that are here aren't ground-breaking or even specifically unique, but they have an air about them; a certain, indefinable quality, that implies that this band has the potential to create something in the future that is both unique and ground-breaking.

"Too Late", this EP's opening offering, is a strong, mid-paced track with some really powerful keyboard sections and brilliant, operatic vocals. The hooks in this song lie mainly in the vocals and the keyboards, and they are all great. The guitars have a fairly dark air about them, and they too help to add to the overall atmosphere of this track. This is a very good way to start this record, and it really sets the listener up for what's to come. "Insomnia", with its foreboding intro piece bursts into life as another epic piece of Symphonic Goth Metal. The keyboards soar majestically, and really help to make this song sound mightier than it already does. The sound is incredibly polished, but not to the point where this sounds sterile and clinical in any way. The EP's third track, "Jailed", which serves as the lead single on here, really ups the ante when it comes to its symphonic and bombastic elements. The vocals and keyboards interlace extremely well and create an impressive and catchy track. With its sing along vocal lines and interesting keyboard hooks, this is the sort of song that could potentially become the cornerstone of this bands live set-list. The fourth and final track on this EP, "Chained No More", is characterised by its symphonic elements, with a nice, harpsichord sound to it, and some thick, confident guitar lines. This is one of the better songs on here, and allows the band to close this record on a high note, leaving the listener wanting more, as any great album should.

As far as first records go, this is a very good one, in both terms of musicianship and production, and it's clear that the band have a lot of ideas. Although at times the music is a tad generic, the excellent keyboard lines and operatic vocals really render this criticism obsolete. Of course there are some elements within their sound, particular the guitar sections, which really need to be given more of a prominent place within the mix, but hopefully these tiny issues will be ironed out when the time comes for them to record the follow up to this EP. Some people might stand there and be wholly critical of this release, and to those people I say this; If you can show me a band that has formed and fully realised their sound on their very first release, in little over a year together as an active musical unit, then I'll show you a live unicorn. Gram for gram, these four tracks are the flesh and bones of what will hopefully become a long and successful recording life for this Russian quintet. Symphonic Metallers take note; one of the genres future hard hitters might have just entered the field.