Album Review - Eternal Tears of Sorrow - Before the Bleeding Sun

The last decade has really put Finland on the metal map. Here's another name to add to the list: Eternal Tears of Sorrow. They are probably closer to fellow countrymen Children of Bodom than anybody else. The production resembles a lot, the screaming vocals are pretty close, plenty of keys, drumming style pretty close and the songs aren't that far off. However, Eternal Tears of Sorrow will probably make a name for themselves with the latest release Before the Bleeding Sun.

The bandname and the name of the album give a good idea of what you will find on this new release: Metal with atmosphere. They go from in-your-face Children of Bodom parts to dreamy and epic dreamscapes a la Nightwish. They certainly have the tight metal rhythm section down but they also have the keyboards very much in focus and the use of both female and male clean vocals help to create the dense and emotional atmosphere.

The production is very good, close to the aforementioned band. The guitars and bass are most of the time used as a solid base for the keys, other times the riffs are the main focus of the songs. But the keys are always a big part of the music. Hats off to Janne Tolsa, a keyboarder who who really understands how to fit the keys into metal. At times there is a definite Nightwish sound and vibe going, not something to be ashamed of when you can pull it off as well as Eternal Tears of Sorrow. However, they should work a bit more on bringing their own sound out since it's good enough to bring them far. As a guitarist myself, I am a sucker for a good guitarsolo and Risto Ruuth has a few pretty good ones in there. I rarely mention the artwork, but this one is really worth mentioning. The beautiful but bloody picture certainly got my attention. This is a piece of art that really has something to say. I was surprised to see that Travis Smith was the man behind this. It doesn't resemble what I have seen him do before but that just showcases the immense talent of this guy!

One of the downsides of the album is the narration in the last song. I've said it before and I'll say it again: Don't use narration when you don't have a native English speaker or preferably a native English actor! It just sounds ridiculous so stop ruining good music by crap like this! Although the drumming is pretty solid and the drummer obviously knows what he's doing, I'm missing some more innovative drumming, most of the time it's plain standard powermetal rythms. Maybe it fits the style but I think the music could have been lifted a bit higher with some more creative stuff.

Among all the crap that a magazine like RevelationZ receives, it's great when you discover a little gem like Eternal Tears of Sorrow. Here you have the full package: Beautiful songs backed up by a production that is about as good as they get. A lot of the time listening to this album I asked myself "Why isn't this band more well known?", The music they deliver is really that good. However at other times I would say "Hey, that sounds just like Nightwish" and other time I'd say the same about their Children of Bodom influence. This isn't a problem per se since they are doing it well, but on future releases I'd like to see them work more on their own sound which is certainly strong enough to build on.

Written by Tajs
Friday, January 5, 2007
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Ratings

Tajs: 7.5/10

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