Single reviewsThe Other Side Reviews

Hail – A Stain in Time (2020)

Doing something that you know you shouldn’t be doing brings a lot of guilt with it. This feeling is captured by Hail in her single ‘A Stain in Time’ as she looks at committing this act and the resulting guilt. Using a gothic rock vibe, she pierces through you with her vocals and musical arrangements.

A classically trained singer, she infuses her music with vibes from the old emo scene. Bringing back the hauntingly dark music of the noughties, she weaves her web around you and will not let you out. The serpentine rhythms of this track will slither into your brain.



The opening notes of ‘A Stain in Time’ really take you back to those emo days. Hail’s vocals enter softly under these tones and have this epic gothic quality to them. There is a very Evanescence feeling to this whole song from the crashing guitars to the haunting vocals. Hail’s vocals have a dark tone to them for the verses, but they soar into the stratosphere for the chorus. They pierce through you and send shivers down your spine. You can hear her training as she hits the high notes with frightening accuracy.

As Hail’s vocals and spoken word send you into the shivers, the melody continues the gothic undertones. The driving rock tones of the opening continue throughout the track. There are these drums that pulse through your chest as the guitars pound away at your senses. The melody does take a darker swing later on the track with these light notes that have a very creepy vibe. This matches the spoken word of the vocals.

If you have been missing the old emo scene, ‘A Stain in Time’ by Hail will revive it for you. The gothic rock vibes of this song send shivers through you as the haunting vocals soar and the melody draws you into the darkness.

Find out more about Hail on her Instagram, YouTube and Spotify.