I don’t know about you, but I associate Portugal with Gothic Metal that isn’t afraid to show a hard side. MOONSPELL and THANATOSCHIZO may be the only two that spring immediately to my mind, but I don’t expect my gut associations to be logical. Anyhow, THEE ORAKLE will make it number three, as they have released “Secrets,” an EP that slots up admirably alongside their countrymen.

Compared to the aforementioned two, THEE ORAKLE is rather further into the Gothic Metal genre, with the same sorts of hints of Doom-Death you’d expect from older THEATRE OF TRAGEDY. Simultaneously, the material can get fairly up-tempo as well, reminding one of SATYRIAN, if not nearly so dance oriented. By now you should expect that the band uses two vocalists, a male that usually growls and a female singer that provides about what you’d expect. Mika (the female vocalist) is certainly not ethereal and, surprisingly, she’s not the main vocalist, but she’s often there adding non-verbal vocal lines to the music, rather reminding me of ODES OF ECSTASY’s Cristina Maniati in this respect.

“Secret,” as one should expect, is most indicative of the band’s style. The regular track is over eight minutes, making it the longest on the album by nearly two minutes, while the radio edit nearly halves it. The band really shines here, with some exceptional guitar workthat “Secret” that reminds me of early MOONSPELL while maintaining its own identity. “Emptyness,” meanwhile, sounds like it could have come from the SIRENIA playbook. With comparisons coming this easily, THEE ORAKLE isn’t winning points for originality, but the songs are still crafted with a skill and quality that makes them easy to listen to and quite endearing. There’s a really good vocal run early in “Sea Of Life” that sticks out and that would be even better if I hadn’t heard it before. Where, I don’t know—I’ll probably realize it in three months or so.

Still, the band could go either way. At once the quality of the songs is endearing, but right now their best case for originality comes in the guitar soloing and so I’m worried that with just that they could fall into the pulsating, unidentifiable mass of beauty-and-the-beast Goth bands. I can heartily recommend THEE ORAKLE for Goth fans who want some energy in their music, but for the moment I’ll refrain from forcing them down the throats of non-Goth fans.

(Online July 30, 2007)