The Dark Side by Gregorian

The Dark Side is Gregorian's 2004 album, and as the title suggests it leans into heavier, sadder source material. The choir takes rock and gothic songs and sings them slowly, as chant, drawing out the sorrow underneath. I came back to it for the way it finds the ache hidden in songs I thought I knew.

Why listen?

The arrangements are solemn and spacious, layered male voices over dark orchestration. The production is rich and reverent, made for late, quiet hours. Hearing a famous song of pain stripped to chant uncovers a grief the original kept moving past. There is comfort even in the sadness here, the sense of sorrow shared rather than hidden. It is music for the heavy end of a hard day.

Favourite song: Hurt

The chant treatment suits this song of regret almost too well. The choir lets each line fall slowly, with nowhere to hide.

The moment the full voices gather feels like a cold cathedral filling with sound, vast and echoing. It reminds me of walking into stillness after a long, grey day on the hills, when the quiet is a relief rather than a weight. The song was always about looking back at one's failures, and sung this way it sounds almost like confession.

Key takeaway

The Dark Side is a moody, curious record that finds the sorrow buried in familiar songs. Best heard alone and late.

Tracklist

• Hurt
• My Immortal
• The Four Horsemen
• Unbeliever
• Where the Wild Roses Grow
• Close My Eyes Forever
• More
• Uninvited
• The Raven
• Gregorian Anthem
• Ave Satani
• The End
• In the Shadows

Details

Listen on

• Apple Music
• Amazon
• Spotify

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