Today’s review is going to be about a lovely lady I had the chance to meet during the Dames of Darkness festival, I’m talking about Sakara. 2013 was quite a big year for the British singer; indeed, she was with Apparition during a few months, giving her the opportunity to play with Delain and Vision of Atlantis and she’s now working on her next solo album. And since I’m waiting this album eagerly, let us go back a few years ago when the debut album of her solo project Blood and Stone was released.

Blood and Stone start with “Bleed”, a bewitching song with a slow tempo which melody sent chills down my spine.  The music itself is quite basic for the genre, but the voice of Sakara sounds like a siren, hypnotizing you and leaving you at her mercy. The album continue with “Rise”, quite a change on that one, the siren is now a real lioness pouncing on its prey, with growl that will make you jump from your seat. Unfortunately, once again, the melody doesn’t really live up to the vocals. The next song is the soothing ballad “Join You”, featuring a gentle piano’s flow on which Sakara will sail smoothly, until the guitar make its entrance, adding a raw and passionate flow to the peacefulness of the piano’s waves.

The album continue with “By my Side” which come with an exciting change in the type of melody and mood thanks to the synthesizer, it’s a pleasant change from the recurrent symphonic-saturated pieces  that we’re used to. “She of the Throne” too, has an interesting sound, inspired by Egyptian melody at its start before the energetic guitar and the ethereal vocals of Sakara. Followed by “Ishtar” which not only build a mesmerising melody but a mystifying atmosphere too, blending perfectly with the instrumentation while the vocal make the whole complete.

After the Egypt, Sakara leads us to the country of the rising sun with “Earth song” which progressively became a beautiful gothic lullabies. We continue with a something a bit more unique, “2 Wolves” has an experimental sound and demonstrate a change of tone in Sakara’s voice. No more growl here, but wolf’s howl which add a dark and romantic side to the, once again, siren’s like vocals. “Soul Loss” brings a really trash atmosphere that go really well with Sakara’s voices, both clean vocals and growls. And to finish, “Kunoichi” (term for a female ninja or practitioner of ninjutsu), the final track, while still a bit trash add a really industrial sound.

Thanks to the different element and experiment, Blood And Stone has an identity of its own, but unfortunately the production restrain the vocals capacity of Sakara, which stop the listener to fully profit of what she’s capable of. This little problem excluded, this album is enjoyable and make you want for better. And that need for more might be soon be satisfied as Sakara is working on a new album.