"Porta obscura" CD by Coronatus

by Sonja Angerer (22.10.2008) In the extensive prologue, Coronatus invites the listener to open the secret door and choose one of the album’s "ways", consisting of various versatile songs. Roughly, they all could be labelled as "Gothic Metal", but it’s a long way between the more experimental "Am Kreuz" and dancefloor smashers à la "Mein Herz" which is made smoother by dramatic "Exitus" and "Beauty In Black" with ist pounding chorus. "Strahlendster Erster", very low-key at the beginning, won me over, and also "In your hands", a sparsely instrumented ballad living off the two terrific female singers, Carmen R. Schäfer and Ada Flechtner. The front women - one with a more classic, the other with a more powerful Rock voice, are the frame that makes this output whole in spite of its various influences. But the band is something special anyway, not only due to the unusual line-up: you hardly come across so much passion and diligence regarding composition and arrangement on a second release.