Review Summary: leave your expectations at the door, and you’ll find a fairly enjoyable, albeit ordinary gothic metal album.
Although they will receive comparisons to many female-fronted gothic groups, Nemesea are just a little bit different. This was quite apparent in their previous album,
In Control, which had the band adding slick electronics to their gothic rock formula. It is also apparent in this album, albeit subtler. The sound now borrows from their previous album’s electronic dabbling, whilst employing heavier guitars, and a stronger symphonic feel. Of course, such elements are not unique to goth metal, but they are new to Nemesea, who employ them surprisingly well here.
Despite its mainstream tendencies,
The Quiet Resistance is rather compelling. The band’s most appealing aspect is Manda Ophius, who has a unique voice, hitting high notes with ease. In addition, there’s a back-up male vocalist who can actually sing fairly well (unlike Lacuna Coil’s awful secondary vocalist, Andrea Ferro)! The band’s personality also pops up occasionally with little things like random turntable scratching, and a slight industrial flavor in some songs. However, overwhelmingly,
The Quiet Resistance is generic goth metal. Thankfully, it’s pretty good despite being incredibly ordinary, in fact, it’s well done. They certainly know their way around choruses, catchy vocal lines, and empowering strings; such a formula has worked for many bands in the past, and it works for Nemesea now. The electric guitar sorely lacks hooks, opting instead for mundane chugging, but this is a minor gripe.
Ultimately, the album is too safe/familiar to leave any lasting impact, but that doesn’t mean that the music is lacking. Instead, it is an enjoyable album that can be pleasurable when listened to randomly, a couple songs at a time. Even though Nemesea have mostly lost their uniqueness, and are sounding much too similar to their contemporaries,
The Quiet Resistance is a solid goth metal album. If you expect anything else, you will most likely be disappointed. Those who like Within Temptation, Evanescence, etc. could find this album fairly enjoyable.
