US Gothic Metal has a pretty good history with me, so that when FOUNTAIN OF TEARS second full CD “Fate” hit me, I was looking forward to what they had on offer. Consisting of former members of SACRAMENT, SARDONYX and BELIEVER the lyrical direction was pretty clear: Christian topics. I never have had problems with this, so no fear, none of my review and/or rating have been influenced by this fact.

The piano intro “Weeping Sky” and the first full song “Corruption” are a nice opening, with nice mid-pitched vocals, but unfortunately the concrete starts to crack after that and soon comes crumbling down. The main problem that surfaces all too soon is the relative uniformity of the songs and vocal lines, resulting in a highly unspectacular and ultimately tiring listening experience. While having a nice and well-sounding voice, Vonnie King relies too much on the same kind of vocal line to give the songs her own touch or variety enough to keep the listener glued to the speakers.

Unfortunately the music itself does not lend enough spice and spark to overcome this problem, with the exception of “Forever Lost” and “Ten”, which contain a bit more atmosphere, yet it all begins to blend together into a uniform whole, which in the end leaves me unsatisfied and yearning for more, sometimes more indeed would be more…

(Online July 10, 2007)