2008's Pray is the 10th studio album from German gothic metal stalwarts Crematory, one of the more consistent (and consistently good) bands in an increasingly crowded scene. Crematory found the right balance between death and gothic metal a decade ago, and hasn't changed much since then.

Crematory really doesn't offer up any surprises with this one. Pray is exactly what I've come to expect from the band - heavy death metal riffs and growled vocals balanced by dance-ready keyboards and clean vocal parts. Unlike a lot of gothic metal offerings, Crematory doesn't get bogged down by melodrama or typical genre trappings. The quality of the music is high as always, but the band hasn't really progressed since 1999's

.

If you already own at least one Crematory release from the past decade, you already know what you're going to get with Pray. If you're a gothic metal fan that's new to the band, Pray is as good an album as any to find out what Crematory is all about.