Review by Adam M on October 15, 2025.

This is a very nice recapitulation of what makes this band so great. The songs are moody and emotional and make for an entertaining listen. There is a dark flair to the tracks that is one of a kind and a pleasure to listen to. The songs sound a bit more mature than their previous releases. This is a very emotive listen and the band goes through a painstaking process to make their sound ring true.

The musicianship is very solid with strong guitar playing and introspective singing performances. There is more developed playing than in previous releases. The atmosphere of the album is solid and leads to a powerful presence. There is very little to dislike in terms of the performances though more innovation could be present. This is a fairly well-produced album as well.

If there is a flaw to be found here, it is in how there could be more innovation to be found than there is and things could have been more progressive than they are. This leads the album to sounding limited in nature, but it is still very good.

All in all, this is a fairly strong album with a good mood and solid presentation. It is probably not quite the best album of Green Carnation. It is still a very moving work. There is rarely a less than stellar moment and the entire affair is very entrancing.

Rating: 7.6 out of 10

Review by Nekrist on September 4, 2024.

Gothic metal tends to be judged as an overly exaggerated and unconvincing style on many occasions, however, this German duo known as The Vision Bleak breaks with these paradigms and offers music of the highest quality, a sense of melody and, broadly speaking, a simply masterful level of composition. I discovered this band by chance while listening to doom metal in its different forms. The authentic and convincing sound of The Vision Bleak did not leave me indifferent and encouraged me to take a stroll through their discography, being, their most recent album entitled Weird Tales (An Opus Of Darkness And Grandeur) the one that would reaffirm all the greatness that I expected from these German musicians.

Weird Tales (An Opus Of Darkness And Grandeur) is a journey that takes us through a sinister but romantic symphony (in the most gothic and tragic sense of the word), being a grandiloquent album that is performed like a Victorian opera or dark theater, which is at the same time delicate and elegant. This album features several “movements” that tell stories of a dark and very deep romance, exalting the esoteric feelings and archetypes explored in the lyrics of each track. Although this album is composed to be enjoyed as a whole, the great level of composition previously exposed allows each section to be enjoyed individually, my favorites being 'In Rue d'Auseil' and 'Canticle', for exemplifying and perfectly concretizing all the elements that make this a great work. Konstanz and Schwadorf's voices intertwine to create very memorable vocal lines, pendulating between harsh vocals alongside clean voices that serve as a balm throughout the album, balancing melody and aggression.

The riffs tend to have an epic, very melodic, and nostalgic sound that, again, is balanced with good hooks and groove, the drums can range from more “rocker” rhythms to implementing the use of blast beats that come into perfect harmony in each part of the album. The cover art and the song titles of each segment make it very clear that there is quality here, and that even the smallest detail was delicately polished and calculated to present a work of high artistic content and great beauty.

A huge step forward in the career of this band, which, like good wine, matures and improves with the passing of the years.

Rating: 10 out of 10