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Eard is a black metal band from Italy that plays a very melodic and atmospheric style of music on their second album, Melancholia. Harsh male vocals, blasting drums and tremolo picked guitars are opposed by lovely clean female singing and a haunting Celtic harp with the resulting songs living up to the album's title. The focus is on the wistfully sad melodies plucked on the harp and gut-wrenching, rasping shouts which underpin the overall mournful atmospheres Eard has crafted. I find Melancholia to be an album that leaves its mark as a whole and individual tracks sort of run together, much like watching incremental changes in the tide while pondering the nature of things. The guitars and drums are low in the mix, probably intentionally, and that robs Melancholia of some power and tension. It isn't until "Elegy II" that Eard unleash some riffs to get the blood pumping and create some true ebb and flow. An unlikely choice for driving down the road on a summer's day, Melancholia is probably best suited for cold, dark, midwinter afternoons where it should serve you quite nicely.