What’s better than having a female voice in your band? Having two, of course! That’s obviously what these Germans goth metallers thought, with their first album for Massacre Records, as they try to establish themselves in what is, for many, an overloaded scene, that of female-fronted gothic metal.

So what do the two female vocalists offer that is so different? First of all, let’s focus on the band’s music. The press release that accompanies this CD characterizes them as goth metal. However to me they sound just like Epica, After Forever, Sirenia and so many other bands. So it’s Symphonic metal, with all the staples that characterise the genre, choir vocals, classical orchestration and so on. To be more specific, unfortunately Coronatus sound like Epica but with less inspired arrangements and lack-lustre production.

What could be considered as this band’s big gambit, the two female vocalists doesn’t differentiate the band, since unless you properly listen to the album it would appear as if vocal styles emanate from one voice. And since this genre is based on juxtapositions such as metal to classic musical and operatic vocals to metal grunts, being homogenised is not something that will distinguish you from the pack. This is also confirmed by the bonus track “Volles Leben” that was recorded in 2002 when the band also had a male voice, George Grigoriadis, which even though is reminiscent of Rammstein remains as one of the highlights of the album.

Unfortunately however, in a market that is already saturated, Coronatus will be hard pressed to win the fans over if they don’t have the basic component for a successful album, good songs.