Genre/Influences: Dark-Pop, Wave-Pop.
Format: Digital.
Background/Info: German formation Toal released a debut-EP entitled “Timeless”-EP in 2019 and last year struck back with their debut full-length album. The work features ten songs plus seven remixes.
Content: Toal deals with a sound, which is not that easy to define. It however clearly sounds inspired by a dark approach in Electro-Pop. The songs have something evasive, sometimes moving into Cinematographic passages and even touching ground with a kind of ‘Cabaret-Noir’-style. The female vocals are sometimes reminding me of a mix between L’Âme Immortelle and Kirlian Camera while the production might appeal for lovers of Blutengel.
Remixes have been accomplished by [:SITD:] , L’Âme Immortelle, Chrom, ES23, Mental Exile and HzweiG. There’s also one remix featuring SynthAttack.
+ + + : I like the mix between the different influences, but globally speaking Toal deals with a rather personal Dark-Electro-Pop approach. This band is not a new emulation of an idol, but tries to bring something different merging different influences with each other. The now sensual and then dreamy-like vocal parts create a delicious match with the music. The album is missing an ‘absolute’ hit, but features multiple cool songs instead. I also have to say a word about the impressive list of remixers. L’Âme Immortelle, Chrom and ES23 did a really great job.
– – – : I think this band has more potential than what came out at this work.
Conclusion: “Ritus Ex Silenti” is a very promising debut album resulting from a creative process.
Best songs: “Ritual”, “Unreal World”, “Trapped Heart” + “Trapped Heart – Remix by Tom Chrom”, “Unreal World – L’Âme Immortelle Remix”, “Unreal World – ES23 Remix”.
Rate: (7½).
Artist: www.facebook.com/toal.band
