A new chapter opens for Tomorrow’s Rain.
Following the success of its debut album in 2020, and after a few concerts to defend it despite the pandemic, the band led by Yishai Sweartz (vocals), Raffy Mor (guitar), Yoni Biton (guitar), Yaggel Cohen (bass), Nir Nakav (drums) and Alex Karlinsky (keyboards) announces the release of its second album, Ovdan.
The album opens with the melancholic Roads, where the band meets Andreas « Heljarmadr » Vingback (Dark Funeral) and Tony Wakeford (Sol Invictus) to add a touch of darkness to this long Gothic ballad. If the composition remains relatively calm at first glance, the final takes a definitive Black Metal stance, leading us to Sunrise and its mysterious introduction, which eventually becomes more impressive as it welcomes the heady saturation. Leads contribute to this enigmatic touch that the band naturally weaves before Muaka comes to hypnotize us, inviting Attila Csihar (Mayhem, Tormentor, Sinsaenum…) to recreate the unhealthy oppression. His intense, tenebrous duet with Yishai is perfect for giving this track its personality, but it’s time for Room 124 and its husky tones, which perfectly match the Doom/Death desolation while complementing the beauty of the majestic rhythm. I Skuggornas Grav might sound like a pause in the piano’s sweetness, but Mickael Broberg (Unanimated) and Anja Huwe (Xmal Deutschland) disturb the quietude with cold, intriguing vocal interventions. Saturation returns with Burning Times, where Jan Lubitzki (Depressive Age) adds his voice to give the track’s plaintive tones that perfectly combine with the vocalist’s desperate energy and the rhythm’s purity, creating a contrast with the lively Turn Around and its driving heavy influences. Michael Denner (Mercyful Fate, King Diamond) joins the band for an elaborate solo on the final, then Convalescence unfurls its hazy tones to envelop us in its torpor, while occasionally shaking us with a few rawer riffs and howls. The album comes to a close with Rainbow, which offers us a moment of true serenity with its aerial sounds, followed by Intensive C. U., which blends what sounds like a hospital room with sampled vocals.
The band asked Ben Christo (Sisters Of Mercy) to join them for a bonus Gothic Rock version of Turn Around, making the composition much more ethereal while keeping Michael Denner‘s solo, giving it an interesting second interpretation.
With its new album, Tomorrow’s Rain offers another vision of its music. Ovdan remains rooted in intense, oppressive Gothic/Doom Metal, of course, but we sense that the band is more often indulging in darkness, or in the opposite, tranquility.
85/100