SIRENIA - The Enigma of Life

Submitted by sherivengeance on Wed, 01/06/2011 - 1:36pm

I'm a fanatic lover of gothic metal - especially of that which is female fronted - but seriously, I was so bored by this album that I considered relinquishing this review.

It's all been done before. Every cliché that female fronted, gothic metal has is on this record, and I wasn't engaged, I wasn't entertained, and every track melded into the next. Same old lyric soprano trills weaving into the same drab timbre of the tenor's [influenced] voice. Catchy choruses on a symphonic “metal” back drop. Think pop metal with a dark edge, just very soft and diluted.

So, they went for the mainstream appeal with their musical approach through a pop-oriented vocalist - Nightwish, anyone? [Only post 2005. Still on the Tarja team. – Ed] And whilst the band has spent the time reinventing its sound, this has not done the outfit any favours, and I do not see their fame sky-rocketing on the back of this release, The Enigma of Life.

Lead composer Morten Veland has written some amazing albums in his time, but I really lament the days of old where Tristania [of which Veland is a founding member] was not only extremely musical and pretty, but heavy as a really heavy thing. Even Liv Kristine's albums with Leaves' Eyes are heavier than this! 

Metal doesn't have to be bludgeoning, but it needs to have a certain depth - and I couldn't find that depth on this record. The guitars are weak, the heavy male counterpart is no longer employed in the vocal lines, and the choir is overdone appearing on every track. 

At Sixes and Sevens [Sirenia’s debut album, released in 2002] was a stand out gothic metal release, but it's clear that the band has now found their sound and this is the target they're aiming for, and thus The Enigma of Life is predictable, banal and lacking heart.

The Enigma of Life is out now through Nuclear Blast

 

Album: The Enigma of Life

Release: February 15, 2011

Tracklist:

  1. The End Of It All 
  2. Fallen Angel 
  3. All My Dreams 
  4. This Darkness 
  5. The Twilight In Your Eyes 
  6. Winter Land 
  7. A Seaside Serenade 
  8. Darkened Days To Come 
  9. Coming Down 
  10. This Lonely Lake 
  11. Fading Star 
  12. The Enigma Of Life 
  13. Oscura Realidad 
  14. The Enigma Of Life (acoustic version)

Visit: www.mortenveland.com/sirenia

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