''Porta Obscura'' is the second studio album by German

gothic metal Gothic metal (or goth metal) is a fusion genre combining the aggression of heavy metal music, heavy metal with the dark atmospheres of gothic rock. The music of gothic metal is diverse with bands known to adopt the gothic approach to different ...

band

Coronatus Coronatus is a German gothic metal band, formed in Ludwigsburg in 1999. Fronted by two female singers with contrasting voices and styles, the band has released ten studio albums since 2007. ''Recreatio Carminis'' and ''Secrets of Nature'' are t ...

. It contains 11 tracks plus 2 bonus tracks included in the limited edition digipak which was released along with the standard edition. Those bonus tracks are "Flos Obscura", a new recorded

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

version of the track "Dunkle Blume" from their last album, '' Lux Noctis'', and "Volles Leben", the band's first song in its initial form with male vocals.Press info sheet from Massacre Records
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Reception

''Porta Obscura'' received mixed reviews from the critics. A review by the Dutch ''Lords of Metal'' website complained about a lack of "remarkable compositions". The German edition of ''

Metal Hammer ''Metal Hammer'' is a heavy metal music magazine and website founded in 1983, published in the United Kingdom by Future, with other language editions published by different companies available in numerous other countries. ''Metal Hammer'' featu ...

'' compared the style to

Nightwish Nightwish is a Finnish symphonic metal band from Kitee. The band was formed in 1996 by lead songwriter and keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen, guitarist Emppu Vuorinen, and former lead singer Tarja Turunen. The band soon picked up drummer Jukka Neval ...

with influences of medieval metal and lauded the accomplished production. ''Metal Perspective's'' reviewer called the album "below average, providing only weak, typical and uninspiring moments" while the German ''

Sonic Seducer ''Sonic Seducer'' is a German music magazine that covers gothic rock, new wave, EBM and other kinds of electronic music and culture. The magazine is noted for organizing the annual M'era Luna Festival. Since its inception in 1994, the ''Sonic ...

'' magazine marked a considerable improvement of the vocal arrangements compared to Coronatus' first album and praised the multiple musical hues on ''Porta Obscura''. The Austrian webzine ''Stormbringer'' was positive about the compositions but asked for a more distinctive original input from the band.

Track listing

Personnel

*Carmen R. Schäfer – vocals *Ada Flechtner – vocals *Jo Lang – guitars *Aria Keramati Noori – guitars *Fabian Merkt – keyboards & programming *Chriz diAnno – bass *Mats Kurth – drums

Info

*Mastered by Mika Jussila at

Finnvox Studios Finnvox Studios is a recording studio located in Pitäjänmäki, Helsinki, Finland. It was founded by Erkki Ertesuo, Kurt Juuranto and Lejos Inc. in 1965 and is the longest running studio recording facility in Finland. The original multi-track ...

in Helsinki, Finland. *The songwriting started when the soprano singer Carmen R. Schäfer was expecting a child. Before finishing it she gave birth to her daughter, Beatrice Anita.

References

{{Authority control 2008 albums Coronatus albums Massacre Records albums