Scheitan – Wine for a Tormented Soul
Release Date: 19th December 2025
Label: The Circle Music
Bandcamp
Genre: Gothic Rock
FFO: Sisters of Mercy, Type O’Negative, OMD.
Review By: Paul Cairney
1999 saw Scheitan release their 3rd full-length album. It then took a magnificent 24 years for their 4th album, with their sound evolving from an early black metal to a more gothic rock sound. Now, 1 year later, we are hit with their 5th album, Wine for a Tormented Soul, an album where Scheitan introduce a somewhat Eurovision Song Contest vibe.
That is a bit unfair. Scheitan have settled into a gothic sound that is part Sisters of Mercy, part Type O’Negative and part Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark. It feels like a deliberate move by the band, and so they should be congratulated for it.
It is a warm album, Scheitan’s main man, Pierre Törnkvist, states, ‘Music is my therapy, it is my best friend in dark times’. Wine for the Tormented Soul shows this. The liberal use of keys embraces you. There are strong melodies, and the album is somehow danceable, despite it being gothic in nature. Goth’s were somewhat miserable in my day, have things changed?
The issue is that nothing stands out on the album. ‘Döden är helt underbar’ is a decent track, but nothing is particularly memorable. It is there and… nice. The passion invoked in ‘A Kiss of Death’ creates an uplifting atmosphere. No death kiss here…. Again it is decent.
The albums run time helps – it is only half an hour, so it doesn’t have any overly long songs. On the flip side, the tracks don’t expand as much as a result.
It is very hard to criticise the album. There is nothing wrong with it. It is solid, it brings a small smile on occasions, it just doesn’t really drive home any sense of exhilaration.
(3 / 5)
