The Vision Bleak: Set Sail to Mystery

The quintessence of The Vision Bleak On their fourth studio album, The Vision Bleak are coming full circle. "Set Sail To Mystery" unites the driving Goth-rock energy of "The Deathship Has A New Captain", the dramatic heaviness of their sophomore "Carpathia - A Dramatic Poem", and the Nordic aggression of "The Wolves Go Hunt Their Prey". Lyrically, it is a journey into the realms of the supernatural and the abysses of the human mind, once more inspired by masters of weird fiction such as H. P. Lovecraft and E. A. Poe. This year will see The Vision Bleak return to the stage of Horror Metal â€" more ghoulish and more poetic than ever before. After they journeyed through the underworld on the rotten planks of a deathship in the year 2004 (on "The Deathship Has A New Captain"), befittingly travelled the calamitous Carpathians in a black carriage in 2005 (on "Carpathia â€" A Dramatic Poem"), and sorted with wolves in 2007 (on "The Wolves Go Hunt Their Prey"), our necromancers Schwadorf and Konstanz are coming full circle in 2010. On "Set Sail To Mystery", they once again set the tattered, ashen sails of the deathship and head towards midnight, death, and doom. Of course, the last few years have left their mark on the ferrymen. As if The Vision Bleak were leafing through the pages of a leather-bound tome on their history thus far, "Set Sail To Mystery" is cruising through many of the lethal waters they have sailed through in previous lifes: the driving gothic-rock energy of their debut, the dramatic heaviness of their sophomore, and the Nordic aggression of the last album are resonating on this, their fourth opus, like the death-knell of a cemetery chapel. Yet, "Set Sail To Mystery" is much more than just the sum of it's predecessors. Proof for this is the foreboding introduction, "A Curse Of The Grandest Kind", where a magical invocation written by the notorious poet Lord Byron is set to a haunting, atmospheric melody: "And a magic voice and verse Hath baptiz'd thee with a curse" And The Vision Bleak aren't making any idle threats here: this intro already makes listeners succumb to the album's spell, forcing them to immerse themselves in the dark, gothic world this duo creates with masterly dramatics. Edgar Allan Poe needs to be present, of course, as does H.P. Lovecraft, who has been a member of the crew ever since the maiden voyage of the deathship. These dark fairytales are performed as a very varied hell-ride featuring dramatic pomp, oppressive metal, and forceful energy as well as mean screeches, Thomas Helm's operatic vocals, and female furies â€" complemented by contemporary black-metal snarling in "A Romance With The Grave" or the malicious doom swamp of "Mother Nothingness", which is going to secure The Vision Bleak a tenacious and gloomy memorial in the morass of the underworld. Kutulu Doom! Set sails, cast a final glance ashore: whosoever hires on the deathship shall never return again. "Into the Maelstrom I descend..."

1. A Curse Of The Grandest Kind
2. Descend Into Maelstrom
3. I Dined With The Swans
4. A Romance With The Grave
5. The Outsider
6. Mother Nothingness (The Triumph Of Ubbo Sathla)
7. The Foul Within
8. He Who Paints The Black Of The Night

Shipping is available to the 48 contiguous United States. We are unable to ship to PO Boxes, International locations, or APO/FPO addresses. 

Please ensure your address is entered correctly. We are unable to redirect to an alternate shipping address once an order is placed.If your order contains multiple items, it may ship from different warehouse locations.

Tracking information will be sent as items are shipped.

Allow up to 5 business days for your order to process when calculating delivery dates. 

Note: Additional delays may occur due to severe weather or other carrier delays. 

Standard Shipping: allow 7-10 business days for delivery. Albums will be shipped via USPS Media Mail; all other products via UPS Ground or FedEx Ground.

Expedited Shipping: allow 2-5 business days for delivery. Albums will be shipped via USPS Priority Mail; all other products via UPS 2-Day Air or FedEx 2-Day Air.

Overnight Shipping: allow 1-2 business days for delivery. All products will be shipped via UPS Next Day Air or FedEx Next Day Air. 

We offer a 30-day money back guarantee on all products purchased from Victrola.com. All items must be returned as new in their original packaging, including all accessories and cables. Albums must be unopened to receive a refund. Missing items will be charged based on suggested retail prices.

All returns must be accompanied by a valid return authorization number (RMA) issued by Victrola. If an RMA is not obtained prior to shipping, the returned product will be refused and returned to sender.

If the item is no longer wanted, the shipping cost is not refundable and returns must be shipped prepaid by the customer. There is a 15% restocking fee that will be calculated based on the price of the product once the item is refunded.

If the item is defective, a pre-paid shipping label to return the product will be provided, and no restocking fee applies.

To set up a return for refund please visit Customer Care. Be sure to include your order # and reason for your return when submitting your request.

View more information about returns and warranty here.