At first glance, it's easy to dismiss Australia's Virgin Black as another contestant in the modern goth metal sweepstakes (no thanks to their corpse makeup and in-mourning attire). But, upon closer scrutiny, their album Sombre Romantic transcends most of the genre's limitations, as Virgin Black throws everything but the bidet into their macabre operettas of gloom and depression. Theirs is a complex sound (kinda like Iron Maiden molesting Enya in the orchestra pit), combining depressive melodies, heavy metal guitars, lush string arrangements, elegant synthesizer and piano colorings, and even a seven-piece choir. Yet, however overblown, their visions of grandeur are easily matched by the ensemble's self-assured execution and their ambitious arrangements. Aside from the core elements mentioned above (expertly combined on standout cuts like "Embrace" and "A Poet's Tears of Porcellain"), further sonic ingredients found here include Gregorian chants ("Opera de Romance"), semi-black metal riffing ("Drink the Midnight Hymn"), and loads of baroque piano tinklings ("Of Your Beauty," "Walk without Limbs"). Vocalist and apparent prime mover Rowan London is actually the only clear target for criticism -- and then only because his morbid lyrics are so over the top that he can't always convey them with the assurance they demand (see the three-part "Museum of Iscariot"). Still, hair-splitting criticism aside, this is a very impressive first outing. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia