The title As I Shine is anything but a valid description of the music contained within this release. On their debut album, Dominanz creates a bleak and oppressive industrialized atmosphere, filled with haunting melodies, harsh vocals, and sinister overtones. The trio's brand of industrial metal fused with black metal and gothic metal should easily appeal to fans of the genre, and the strong compositions should keep listeners consistently coming back for more. As I Shine is a tad incoherent at times, but it's largely an impressive and promising debut from Dominanz. I'll be curious to here where this promising band heads in the coming years.
Musically, As I Shine is a rather unique release. It lies somewhere between industrial metal, black metal, and goth rock, with eclectic vocal styles and uses of keyboards. The vocals range anywhere from growls to clean female singing, goth-rock styled vocals, and black metal shrieks. There are quite a few melodies on As I Shine, and I'd actually consider this a pretty melodic album. The symphonic keyboards often provide the melodies, but there are quite a few instances where the vocals also contain melody. The atmospheric keyboards are ultimately one of As I Shine's strongest assets, and they provide a strong backbone for each of the tracks. The somewhat raw, yet still clear production also suits the music perfectly.
The only substantial flaw I can find in As I Shine is that, while it maintains a high level of quality throughout, it's lacking truly standout material and it can feel "samey" towards the end of its duration. A bit more variation within the songwriting and instrumentation would unquestionably fix that issue. Otherwise, Dominanz have created a very impressive debut full-length that fans of industrial metal should enjoy greatly. 3.5 stars are warranted here. Dominanz are a promising group, and with a few small refinements, I could see their next outing being something truly spectacular.
Track Listing:
1. Infinity
2. Agony and Domination
3. As I Shine
4. Eternal Sin
5. Abusos
6. The Philanthropic
7. Last Day of Your Life
8. Man on Top
9. From Skin to Heart
10. The End of All There Is
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