Although "Pearls In Dirt" may be their third official studio album, Dutch gothic metallers Asrai have been together since the mid 80’s, originally as an all female ensemble. Their current lineup still features original singer Margriet and drummer Karin (who started on guitar in the early days before moving to drums in 1988) while bassist Martin, guitarist Rik and keyboard player Manon round out the quintet. What helps this group stand apart from the crowd is their infusion of punk and new wave undercurrent to their addictive, swirling gothic metal stance. The mechanical keyboard tones take cues from forerunners such as The Smiths, Depeche Mode or New Order while the rhythm section hammers home the heaviness with a melancholic doom gloom. The ace in the hole so to speak is Margriet’s emotional, wide ranging but powerful voice. She may not have the super high power of Simone Simons or the grace of Christina Scabbia yet there is enough versatility, depth and despair in her heartfelt lyrics and delivery to win over anyone instantly.

Favorites? Look into the dual call and response vocals with the peppy "Go", the first single "Sour Ground" with its soaring keyboard riff and easy to get into made for radio melodies plus the closing dark ballad "Chain Me" that seems well set for a motion picture soundtrack regarding desert sands in some deep foreign lands. Some may have a problem with the fact that this 10 song effort clocks in at a quick 43 minutes and change, but these days aren’t you tired of acts that pile on everything they can but don’t know when to separate quality from quantity? Purple bats, black tears and a heavily tattooed woman adorning roses convey the right imaginative art vision to match the excellent music within "Pearls In Dirt".

Seemingly banished for decades due to the ‘male metal’ code of ethics, female artists are proving that their time has come to dominate the scene, and it’s easy to hear why with bands like Asrai leading the charge. Let’s hope we can get a fourth studio album in quicker time than 3 years- but if not I’m positive "Pearls In Dirt" will still sound as spellbinding and magnetic a thousand playbacks down the pike.

Indie Distribution (www.indiedist.no)
www.asrai.net
www.season-of-mist.com

Composed by Matt Coe