Reviews

WAVES UNDER WATER..'SERPENTS AND THE TREE'

(Calorique Records, Danse Macabre, Alive) Reviewed 16th February 2010

Here we have a darkwave electro trio from Sweden featuring the angelic Angelica Segerback on Vox Humana, Johan Svardshammer twiddling the electronics, and Richard Kretschmer parradiddling the live drum pads. Johan also designed the expressive sleeve art, and it is good to see a band creating a potent image with their distinctive steampunk look, it sets the scene for their dark romanticism. Angelica’s voice dreamily floats over a sea of dancing beats, rippling sequencers, and gorgeous rolling synths. By using minor key signatures and thoughtful lyrics they create a dark, dramatic, atmospheric sound, whilst remaining danceable, intelligent and richly melodic; this is music for the mind, soul and feet. The tunes range from dancefloor fillers like ‘Summerland’, to the folk pop of the title track, ‘Serpents and the Tree’, to the moody and deep ‘Because She Is Immortal’, to the mellifluous ‘Winter Garden’, to my fave, the melodramatic ‘Wake the World’. With the right promo they have the potential to cross over into the mainstream. Basically, if you want something that you can really enjoy listening to, or you like swinging a leg if the mood takes your fancy, then you can dance away with this number from most of your fave emporiums, 8.5/10 (Reviewed by Phil)

WE ARE THE FALLEN..'TEAR THE WORLD DOWN'

(Universal Records) Reviewed 13th May 2010

Ben Moody, he of Evanescence fame had a well publicised fall out with Amy Lee a while back now. Very unfortunate, because I do not feel Amy's band has been quite the same since, and I eagerly await their new material as a consequence. Meanwhile, Ben has kinda missed the sound he so dearly loves, and without a Gothic Queen as his singer. Well, for one who waits with patience, they will be duly rewarded. And he was rewarded when Carly Smithson appeared on the scene. 26 year old Carly is a Dublin born soul/pop rock singer-songwriter, now from San Diego, California, who was the sixth place finalist on the seventh season of American Idol. Without going into full details and indeed having to cut a long story short, she hitched up with Ben Moody to become the vocalist in We Are The Fallen. And what about the music on this their debut release? From the shop floor (they are the punters), feedback by and large is good, I know as I am being told. The media reaction though from what I have read so far is mixed. My view - The songs on offer on 'Tear The World Down' are basically mid paced rockers with the odd ballad thrown into the mix. 'Bury Me Alive' gets things going, a melodic rocker, and okay, it could be Amy Lee singing this, but it ain't. Great orchestral outro to this song by the way. The Evanescence/Amy Lee comparisons do continue, with things slowing down for the awesome piano led ballads, 'Sleep Well My Angel' and 'I Am Only One', while I rank 'St John' (great chorus) and the epic title track as other faves of mine. Okay, this album may well be judged by the media for all the wrong reasons, and yep, I am a sucker for female fronted Rock & Metal, but on music alone (and I do not care who it sounds like), this is cool, and is worthy to my ears of an 8/10. (Reviewed by Dave)

WEEKEND ON MARS.. 'RUMORS ON THE TOWN'

(Independent Release) Reviewed 7th October 2009

This is the debut release from a new pop/rock band from France. They describe their sound as between the Cranberries and Evanescence, but I can also hear bits of The Cars, Blondie, The Corrs, the Bangles, Jellyfish, Within Temptation, all sorts. In fact every song sounds incredibly familiar, but in a good way, and they scream radio play. Rocky guitar solos stop it getting too poppy, and the female/male vocals of Deby May and Jay Blake compliment each other perfectly. Favourites include the rocky ‘Push’, the groove of ‘No Need’, the urban ballad ‘Story Teller’, and especially the electro vibe of ‘One of Them’ which shouts hit single. This is a very enjoyable listen, well produced, with a modern sound, highly recommended for pop/rock fans and anyone who enjoys good songs with catchy choruses that stay in your head. Easily available on CD Baby and why not check them out at http://weekendonmars.com/ aswell. 8.5/10 (Reviewed by Phil)

WEEPING SILENCE..'END OF AN ERA'

(Sleaszy Rider) Reviewed 26th October 2009

Weeping Silence from Malta have a long history, stretching back to the 90’s,releasing an album in 2000. It’s taken eight years to release this, their second,during which time they have undergone many changes. Vocalist Rachel Grech has a truly magnificent voice, a mix of Marcela Bovio and Sharon Den Adel. After a short spooky intro, there follows four beautiful, dreamy songs that rise and fall, rise and fall like the sea, over the course of about 10 minutes each, full of Streams of Passion like other worldly moodiness and splendour. I listened to this on a Sunday morning, and this proved to be perfect to relax and chill out to, after a stressful week I felt at peace with the world. The only criticism is the rather trebly rhythm guitar sound in the heavier passages, but the musicianship is superb, with lovely guitar work and atmospheric keys. Copies are available on EBay. They have another album in the can and are looking for a label; they deserve to have companies beating down the door to sign them. 8.5/10 (Reviewed by Phil)

WEEPING SILENCE..4 Track Promo/Demo

(Independent Release) Reviewed 22nd August 2010

Weeping Silence from Malta is on the path to stardom. This Demo consists of four tracks from their unreleased third album 'Theatre of Life'. Vocalist Rachel Grech has a totally awesome voice, which suits this style of music to the ground. Track one, the 6+ minute 'Promises Broken' is technically brilliant, with a great choral interlude too. 'Dark Waters' sends shivers down my spine, with Rachel's vocals again the star here, although I must say that the overall musicianship from all concerned is nothing short of excellent. Again we have the use of choral arrangements that gives the music that extra lift. 'Within White Walls' is a slower number with an upbeat and catchy chorus, while 'Innocent Cries' ends this great little demo, again using choral arrangements to great effect. I like everything about this little beast, a lot. Their myspace is at www.myspace.com/weepingsilence. 9/10 (Reviewed by Dave)

WHERE ANGELS FALL..'MARIONETTES'

(Independent Release) Reviewed 4th November 2008

Norwegian band Where Angels Fall (www.myspace.com/whereangelsfall) continue the path with this release, that they led us onto with the Illuminate album. The distinct sound with angelic, melancolic melodies supported by groovy guitar riffs, and elements of electronica is now taken to another level. The band was founded in 2004 and has released an EP (Dies Irae, 2004) and the album, the aforementioned 'Illuminate' (2006). Now the time has come for a new release: 'Marionettes'. And it is not a bad effort either. Indeed, I think 'Marionettes' has a slightly more commercial edge than it's predecessor. The opening salvo of 'Marionettes (Again)' and 'Freeze Me' shows us the sort of direction we are going with this record. The thing is, this sort of music is right up my alleyway, so I must be frank to say it is difficult to be critical. I suppose one could say that this has all been done before, and maybe that is correct, but when it is done this well, who's complaining. Overall, there is some good music on offer here including 'Path of Sorrow', this sounding like early Within Temptation. This sure is a good release for fans of the genre, so check it out. 8/10 (Reviewed by Dave)

WHYZDOM..' FROM THE BRINK OF INFINITY'

(Ascendance Records) Reviewed 22nd September 2009

This is the debut album from the French symphonic metal sextet, although the maturity in their music is phenomenal. They have a truly massive sound, with huge orchestrations, thundering band, and their own 15 strong Dark whispers Choir. This makes the production by leader, main songwriter, and guitarist Vynce Leff even more remarkable, every instrument can be clearly heard, no mean feat when there is so much going on. Telya Melane has a soaring voice, reminiscent of a young Sharon Den Adel, she has to give it some real oomph to rise above the music, and she shows enormous skill in singing some very demanding vocal lines. The album starts with a trio of Nightwish / Epica / Sirenia / Delain type epics, that move seamlessly from light to dark, before the awesome ‘The Power and the Glory’. The brief ‘Freedom’ is jaw dropping, with gorgeous choir and guitar solo. The next song ‘Escaping the Ghosts of Reality’ is heavier with some growling, even though I belong to the anti growling club, I have to admit it is very effectively. Even this song flows into quieter waters. ‘Atlantis’ features a chorus that Nightwish would give their right arms for. ‘The Old Man in the Park’ is extraordinary, moving from a gentle start to something darker, with a very unusual chord change. ‘The Seeds of Chaos’ blasts your ears off before the choral first part of Daughter of the Night. This segues into part 2, which shows off everything that is great about this band, Within Temptation gone power metal. The last song has a Celtic start that even features bagpipes, before moving into something that sounds like Mike Oldfield gone metal. It ends with the bagpipes fading off into the distance, like the clans leaving Culloden. This album is close to musical nirvana for me, and anyone who like massive, sophisticated and challenging symphonic metal, and indeed anyone who enjoys any of the afore mentioned bands, should rush out and grab a copy. 9.5/10 (Reviewed by Phil)