If you’re in the market for a female fronted Gothic influenced hard rock band, then one option stands out from the crowd: multinational act Evans & Stokes and its summer of 2017 independent debut full length Beyond The Gates. Multinational in terms of how Evans & Stokes follows a similar pattern as multinational cohorts The World Will Burn from also featuring a US based guitarist, John Evans, and a vocalist from New Zealand, Jenny Stokes. Whereas The World Will Burn traverses modern rock mixed with hard rock territory, Evans & Stokes resides upon a Gothic foundation but with strong leanings towards metal and hard rock and the progressive side of things. Now, much of what today falls under the ‘Gothic’ heading comes across more as symphonic metal – found in its use of classical keyboards, choral vocals and orchestral overtures – but with an extreme male vocalist replacing a signature operatic female vocalist. Evans & Stokes has nothing to do with such nonsense.
Track Listing:
“Alone I Lie” (4:54),
“My Lullaby” (5:16),
“Defy The Demons” (4:40),
“The Devil’s Ride” (3:31),
“Sadness” (3:28),
“Psalm 23” (3:21),
“Kingdom” (4:19),
“In Your Silence” (3:15),
“Angel Eyes” (4:01),
“Forgiven” (3:46),
“I Cry No More” (4:11),
“Beyond The Gates” (6:52)