German band Mandrake was formed in the late 90’s and their music was actually a mixture of

Death Metal and Gothic Metal. Now back to 2007 and to their brand new album (their 4th by the

way) called “Mary Celeste”.

There’s no trace of Death Metal in their music anymore and their music could very well be described as Female fronted-Atmospheric-Melancholic-Gothic Metal. We get 13 songs... 13 okay songs, but I miss something. The guitars are heavy alright... and singer Birgit Lau is doing a great job but even after numerous listens I still miss something. Of the 13 songs there are to be found on “Mary Celeste” only 2 of them could be considered as highlights in my humble opinion. I’m talking about the great opener and title-track “Mary Celeste” and track 6 “Masquerade”. The rest of the songs are only a tad above average.

With only 2 excellent songs and 11 okay songs on the exact same level “Mary Celeste” doesn’t

ignite. I don’t feel like playing this CD over and over again and do have in mind that I have absolutely nothing against Atmospheric Gothic Metal, but except for the 2 songs mentioned above nothing really stands out.