LA-VENTURA - White Crow

10 songs
40:04 minutes
***** *
(self-released)

Bandpage

La-Ventura is a Dutch gothic metal band that has been around since 2005. In 2007 their debut A New Beginning couldn’t entirely convince me. This was followed in 2009 by an EP containing three tracks, two of which made it on their new and second longplayer White Crow. It seems that the band hasn’t met universal approval, and they are still not signed to a record label.

The music on their current album sounds very powerful, but the band makes the mistake to lean too closely to those two popular Dutch gothic bands The Gathering and Within Temptation. I also get the impression as if vocalist Carla is trying desperately to sound like Evanescence’s Amy Lee. And this gives us already La-Ventura’s three biggest influences. There are also some other elements. On Human Vanity and the title track, one can make out traces of modern metal. Occasionally the band is overdoing the dramatics which I interpret as their tribute to Evanescence. A third component are the quieter, dreamy parts that sometimes border on the esoteric, which can best be testified on Drowning.

By itself White Crow is not truly a bad album. The musicians have all the necessary technical skills, and the songwriting is also quite good. And yet the vital spark is missing, and it becomes soon clear that with their current attitude, it will be hard for La-Ventura to leave the shadows of their role models. White Crow is a decent gothic album, but it is not an essential addition to the genre. It would be more than welcome if the band would dare in the future to venture forth into more unexplored territory.