Reviewed by Mark Sherwood

Lengsel hail from Norway and their music is described as progressive black metal. This album has been a long time in the making since the well received 'Solace' from 2000, after which they disbanded only to reform in 2006. So was it worth the wait? 'The Kiss - The Hope' is very experimental and personally I feel it lacks focus but that could work for some people in that there is variety here with styles featured including jazz on "Tales Of Lost Love" and with other songs taking on punk, garage rock and even industrial. There is a video on their MySpace page for the song "The Pale People" which is quite chaotic but at the same time interesting. The lyrics I have to say are indecipherable which although not uncommon in this genre is compounded by the fact that no lyrics were provided with my review copy. I have checked two of the lyrics on websites but this has not enhanced my understanding. All in all I think if you like experimental stuff Lengsel's return might be worth investigating.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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