Label: Black Sunset
Release date: October 24th, 2024
Named after Father Lankester Merrin, The Exorcist novel character, the band from Lower Saxony just released their third full length “Dark Mother’s Child”. I am very strict when it comes to female fronted bands, but, when it comes to Lankester Merrin and their singer, I can say they passed the test. Unique voice without prediction to copy anyone. If you listen carefully, Cat Rogers is more a blues singer, her colour of the voice and singing style are similar to Janis Joplin’s, but she successfully uses her vocal cords in metal band. And I will only say metal, because I do not want to put their music in any drawer (melodic, heavy, power…).
After the first listen you can conclude what is it all about the band: extremely melodic, catchy, earworm songs. Compared with the previous two releases, this album is the most versatile. As they wrote in the promo material:
“On “Dark Mother’s Child”, the band continues its breathtaking development and sometimes goes even harder than on its predecessors”.
I can agree with that especially when it comes to already mentioned versatility. If we would draw the line, we could say that previous albums compared to this one are a bit monotonous and empty while “Dark Mother’s Child” delivers more fun, more melodies and more experiments. The winning card is Cat Rogers and her unique vocal. “Eyes of the Night” is a heavy opener although the mid-tempo dominates. Guitars and drums are carriers of the heaviness of the song and the whole atmosphere. “High Plains Drifter” shows the real face of Lankester Merrin. This is that characteristic sound by which the band is recognized. Hoist up the sail, because from here the Lankester takes the helm! The band obviously has a good lyricist, as this song proves. “Immortal Prince” includes oriental elements, but soon the heaviness takes over the gentle sound. And from here you must pay attention to the lyrics because they took a huge role. This song is a bit slower, but oriental sound saves the course they at some point take: monotony. Next one, “In Rank and File” is extremely close to the edge that the band should not cross, and that is already mentioned monotony. Lyrics are effective, but somehow the vocal is too weak here and does not follow the music. It needs to be stronger, heavier, more aggressive. “Lords of the Flies” brings back the power, excellent guitar work, but here something is missing too. Maybe Cat should have a support of backing vocals or choir to enhance the overall experience. “Mastermind” saves the situation, this is an absolute highlight of the album. “When Darkness Comes” is another fast piece where Cat finally unleashes the beast hidden deep inside of her. And in the end, when it comes to the ballad, “Valley of Tears”, I finally realized why Cat is compared with Doro.
“Dark Mother’s Child” is the proof of Merrin’s progress. But there is a lot of space for improvement. The band has a huge potential, but… As already mentioned, musically the album is colourful, but at some point, when it comes to vocals, they go to the edge of being monotonous (“Immortal Price” or “In Rank and File” for example) which is a shame because Cat can offer more which is proven in “When the Darkness Comes” where she growls. So, on the future albums, I expect more experiments, more aggression in her voice. It seems they are playing on the safe card, but I know they can do more, better, more unique and braver. My absolute favourite is “Mastermind” that has Running Wild vibe, galloping rhythm and earworm chorus: “I am a mastermind, I’ll bring you back to life, I am a mastermind beside you, I am a mastermind, my name is Frankenstein…”. On the future albums I would like to hear more choirs, orchestral parts instead of using keyboards and most of all they should enrich the vocal parts and take the best out of it. Cat Rogers has something others do not have, and that is, already mentioned, uniqueness, that many would envy.
