Imagine a sweet female voice. Utterly feminine, gentle and blooming like the pristine, spotless white of a blushing virgin flower. A purity so honeyed that it seems almost prepubescent, singing in a sugary high pitch sameness. Then kickstart a wicked riff behind it, something deep rooted in the tattered crushing force of thrash, such as Megadeth's "Hangar 18" or "Ashes In Your Mouth". Mix in a royal colour of the splashy bombast from Kamelot's darker days, mainly "Siege Perilous". The result would be something akin to the mishap mishmash of
Echoes of Eternity, where songs to
"The Forgotten Goddess" are all the same.
This is not a terrible album. The musicianship is spot on for a cranky roughhouse thrash outfit, full of chugging vile riffs and ear splitting drumming that rains down with thunderous speed and all the charge of hellfire. But then this voice of an overly innocent girl (Francine Boucher) drifts among the electric waves crashing against the shores of the heaviest of metal. Its bewildering, inappropriate and completely unfitting. As separate elements they could thrive, but together its a test of patience and the prerequisite need to swallow absurdity like a bitter drink that leaves a strangely unpleasant aftertaste behind. If you intend on enjoying this disc that is you must take these oddities in stride.
Musically its not bad, and neither is it vocally, the two just don't go together. Not in any shape, nor any form, nevermind fashion. Yet the band is fashionable in a sense. Gothic rock is a hot ticket right now, and is more likely to earn media attention on US shores than other subgenres of the metal persuasion. Echoes hail mostly from the very American state of California, and they seem to have brought along a load of US thrash baggage with them. It seeps into the songs and overpowers them.
Guitar riffs are repetitive but massive, a behemoth in the spirit of heavy metalness that cannot be toppled. Sugary sweet vocals come wafting in and the whole experience dissolves into the awkward surreal. The two polar opposites rarely co-exist in the structures of each song. There are instances when they are allowed to mingle and breathe, bringing them together for momentarily morose melancholic beauty. These sections are usually where the electric rhythm riffing falls to the wayside in favor of orchestral backing or acoustic guitar that is sorrowfully bittersweet enough to match moods with the dainty frontwoman. Another strike against the album is the fact that nearly every song sounds the same. Crunching looping chuggy rhythm riffs, ludicrously sweet singing, a break for a wild
Metallica meets Mustaine solo session with strings a'flying. There is a softer deviation now and then but for the most part, its the same (or similar) few ideas jammed together for ten songs straight running.
Its a clash of titans, the goth/thrash instrumentation on one side and the hymnal petal-like vocals on the other. Divided they stand and fall. Only when the two meet does
Echoes of Eternity find their niche and accomplish their atmospheric moody groove without being out of place. Hopefully the followup to
"The Forgotten Goddess" will see the band grow more accustom to what works with a singer and musicians such as these. For the present release, it is an oddly unsettling disc that is alien even to itself. It darts around answering the question
"What IF Candice Night fronted Slayer? (or Children of Bodom or *insert favorite super heavy band here*)" but maybe that is part of the album's base appeal. The pitting of heaven against hell. Even if its like two secluded co-habitations unaware that the other exists and both belting their own way through, than a real battle of the moral grounds...
There is a perverse element to be enjoyed here. The first few listens will likely you find you wide eyed gawking at the awkward combinations and wondering why such situations were chosen and then forced to co exist. After that the bored indifference creeps in as the similarities sink any clinging hopes left for the album like the Titanic. Still awaiting recommendations? Try The Lovecrave and
Within Temptation instead, both are female fronted goth flavored outfits that get the mood and music right. The Lovecrave being slinky and sultry rock and
Within Temptation earthy yet pretentiously slick. Therion's "Gothic Kabbalah" provides another snapshot of the genre on a dizzyingly epic scale.
Echoes of Eternity should only be ventured forth to satiate curiosity's sake or if cotton candy vocals drizzled over smashing metal riffs tickles your fancy.
Written by
Alanna Monday, April 2, 2007
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