That being said, I must persevere to not fall further behind. You people need, nay, deserve my drunken musical opinions (I'm sorry for anyone who actually thinks they are worth while).
Onward, we go! Leaves' Eyes is a band that I know literally nothing about other than they are releasing an album today. The band name and title lead me to believe they have operatic vocals and heavy guitars, so we will see if they can overcome my general ambivalence to that genre. Of course, they might be folk-pop. In which case, same situation.
I'm definitely going with folk-pop.
I will be drinking beers that I had forgotten about in my fridge. The poor souls were lost behind "legitamate" groceries, and I'm glad to be reunited with them just in time to pour them down my throat as they scream terrified little beer screams.
Now, before I anthropomorphize the deaths of any more inanimate food items, on to the review!
Album:
Alcohol:
"Hell to the Heavens" opens with strings and pretty voice. And there are the heavy guitars. Growls. Subpar growls at that. But the female voice is really nice. The verse sets up a nice dynamic. Into a well done albeit somewhat abrasive chorus. The guitars take a tasteful back seat to the strings and voice in the verses. The diction could be better coming out of that soprano voice. And I think I hear hints of auto-tune which is mighty lame, but the overall composition is considerably better than I'd expect. Coolish ending and not a ten minute track, so I'm good with it.
Keeping with the fast paced yet drudging feel, "Fading Earth" comes in with some decent guitars and again sets up some great dynamics into the verse. The female voice starts expanding here, and I still dig that a lot. The guitars are there, but still very tasteful. Waiting for that ridiculous solo. This song is better than the first as it lows here into a somewhat breakdown. Drop out... Solo. Yeah, buddy. And not annoyingly long. In fact, it was almost too short. vocals and strings to end the track.
"Maid of Lorraine" moves us along by slowing the pace. Coming in with a nice violin before opening up with chugging guitars. Female voice again is nice. Guitar interlude is an awesome touch, aaaaaand they lost me with the growls. At this point, there are some really cool things going on, but I'm getting an overall generic feel. Waiting for that big umph! to grab me. Whisper growls. Oooo.... Ahhh... Honestly, I'm most impressed at this point at how lowkey they are keeping the guitars. There are times when they drop out, and mostly, they just chug rhythmatically. It's refreshing in a genre that plays up its use of strings while really just using them as accents and keeping focus on the guitars. Cool ballad, but not really anything spectacular. Creepy voice to close.
Into a muted acoustic to open "Galswintha". This song actually has a really cool feel. And I think that's a horn of some sort playing the lead. Guitars kick in, and driving double bass because of course. Still, the whole drive of this tune is badass. And the drop into the verse is beautiful. Building here. Goddamn it. Shitty growls. The only way I can really describe it is a windd bulldog with a phlegm overload barking incessantly at a postman. It's just sad, yet not sad enough that you don't find it so goddamn annoying.
Onward to the title track, "Symphonies of the Night". A really cool intro. buildin with the vocals.Burst into held chords. And this track isn't terrible, but not great either. There is a pleasant absence of growls so far, but also a distinct lack of interesting music. Nice high note coing out of the second chorus. I'm feeling rather meh about this whole album thus far. And drop out into a cool little string interlude. Full drop into the final chorus. Oddly enough, what I think they are missing is a significant guitar push. Fade out-ish ending.
Growing into "Saint Cecelia". I once had a turtle named Cecelia. I'm guessing this song is not related, but I thought it was worth mentioning. Slow build with vocals. Choral voicing. Pretty tune. These guys should seriously just drop the guitars and growls, and they'd probably have some grat tunage. This song is sort of bland, but cool in its own right. Nice marching beat driving it along. Anticlimactic.
Acoustic guitar brings us into "Hymn to the Lone Sands". Very pretty here actually. Into really cool guitars. Like... That line is super badas--goddamn growls! I hate you whoever you are destroying songs with your ugly voice. Seriously, the female voice can stand alone the range and style is excellent. And the beauty and the beast dynamic fails if we just want to see the beast speared in the face by the villagers. Well, we found our guitar bump. Really cool things happening there. They have all these awesome elements, yet manage to do their best to miss the mark on putting it all together.
"Angel and the Ghost" comes in subtly, and god, that female voice is excellent. This song, however, quickly reveals itself to being yet another incredibly blah tune. Lame lyrically aswell. And the growls. I'm just going to stop typing and drink through the growls... Cool little solo. Growls.....
Not gonna try to type this title. It's not overly complicated, but I'm too lazy to dal with the accent marks. Also, the beer is kicking in. Slow intro into another cool guitar part. Driving octave chord line. Drop out. Drum fill. growlls.......................................... Ouffdah... power metal drive... Still loving the female voice... Growls.......................... Power metal drive again.... And STILL loving the female voice. Piano and string interlude. Waiting for that kick in. Female voice. Kick in.... Growls.... Belch (Sounded better than the growls). Speaking voice into epicy guitar. I dig this. And powermetal agin. Drop again. Subltly fades into the end...
"Nightshade" opens slow and pretty. Quick on your own research question... How many powermetal/blackmetal/operatic metal songs can you find with the some name as this one? Seriously, I think having a song with Nightshade in the titl is, like, a prerequisite to having a band in this genre. All that aside, this song is rather pretty, and has this nice slow growth. Pushing toward... Something, I hope... NOPE.
Closing the standard version of this disc is "Ophelia". Because they like writing songs about women with outdated names. And yeah, growls.... Again, song isn't bad just not... Good. Growlls........................... Drop out to voice and... Growls. solo and grols........................................... Final chorus... and growls...... Ugh....
On to the first bonus track, "Eileen's Ardency". Obviously keeping the 18th century girls' names theme. Cool build intro. But, yeah... This song is going nowhere. Pretty... But blah.
Bonus track number two, "One Caress". God, that female voice is really good.This song is pretty as well, but I'm not expecting much at this point. Really cool melodies and harmonies here. Again. Cool, but blah...Best lyrical moments are right here. Aaaaand thank god, it's done.
Final Thoughts:
Okay.... I admitt this is not my gnre of choice, that being said, if you don't hear anything you like in the first two tracks, nothing on the rest of the disc will change your mind. IF you are a power metal fan, I suggest listening to Maid of Lorraine, Galswintha and Hymn to the Lone Sands. IF you are a general music lover like me, One Caress may be the only track on the whole thing woulrh you time. So essentially. Take my word and avoid this, or give those tracks a listlen and decide for yourself. I willl not be gettign this disc.
Until next time... Tell me why you disagree in the comments, and I will tell you why you're wrong. Or just give me props and share this because my ego can ALWAYS use a boost. =P
-Badhorse
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