After listening to the first couple of songs on this CD, I put it back in the bottom stack of the promos I had to review, as it just didn't catch my attention. What a huge mistake! After giving it a thorough listen or two, I started seeing its true beauty. I don't want to put this band in any specific genre, as I haven't really heard anything quite like it before (The promo material says Gothic Metal, but I don't feel this does the music full justice, Gothic Rock with electronic elements, maybe). I can best describe it as a very special mix of keyboard and guitar driven music with a gothic feeling and a very very melancholic atmosphere. The band has a fantastic sense of melody both in the vocals and instruments.
The music is filled with soul and emotion, and has a fantastic drive that makes the album flow like a dream. This collection of songs has really gotten under my skin by now. Every single one of them makes an impact. This is especially due to the incredible vocal performance of Jape Perätalo. This guy has one of the best, and most emotional voices, I have heard in a long time. He is able to shape his voice to fit the lyrics and music perfectly. Deep and touching, filled with yearning or angry and sorrowful, filled with pent-up emotions. Everything is sung with conviction and this makes the songs shoot straight to the heart.
The keyboard is very dominant, and an important reason why the music works so well. The keyboard melodies and effects fit the heavy guitar sound perfectly, and along with the drums and bass, they manage to create a thick sound, dripping with atmosphere and soul. I find the music both sad and uplifting at the same time, and that is saying a lot.
Every song on this album ranges from great to brilliant. Even the cover of Cutting Crew's
Died in your arms works well. I'll just pull forward a few of my favourites.
Too much ain't enough is a great example of how well the keyboard and guitars work together. It also shows the great diversity and feeling in Jape's vocals. One moment his soothing voice creates and relaxed feeling before his voice changes to a more ragged state and all the feelings of repressed emotion burst out.
Jaded is ruled by a fantastic melancholic atmosphere and beautifully conveys a feeling of... yes, jaded love... This one pretty much sums up the atmosphere and feeling of the entire album.
Fall Strains is my favourite at the moment, and in my mind almost a perfect song. It has a great build-up and also has the most amazing chorus on the album. In this song the beautiful female background vocals bring the atmosphere up another notch.
Forever has some really excellent guitar work, and is one of the most aggressive songs of the album. Again we get a fantastic melodic chorus with a lot of feeling. And the way the song continues into Años De Dolor is another highlight. Ahh this is excellent!
Silence tells more is a perfect closing song, that seems to bring the listener slowly back to reality after this emotional ride. Well, that's how I felt it anyway... The song has a cool atmosphere and once again features some very fitting and beautiful female vocals.
I can't really say any bad things about this album. If you like music with fantastic melodies, and a melancholic feeling, there is really no way around this one. Well, one minor point of critique is that with a playing time of just below 40 minutes, the album is just too damn short... But with so much much quality I shouldn't really complain. I think the only other band I can compare
To/Die/For to is
Thine from England. They don't play the same music at all,
Thine plays a more Guitar based Rock, but the melancholic feeling is close to being the same.
This band has really captured me, and now I can't wait to discover their other two albums
All Eternity and
Epilogue. Give this one a couple of listens, and I'm sure you'll be getting that Jaded feeling...
Written by
Steen Monday, April 14, 2003
Show all reviews by SteenRatingsSteen: 8.5/10Members: 8.5/10 - Average of 1 ratings.
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