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This is what happens when Dark Symphonies e-mails you out of the blue with a request for a mailing address to submit a promotional copy/press kit. You get something like Elegeion that sounds very much like they belong on said record label, if only they were not a few years behind the so-called trend of Gothic Doom artists who employ clean female vocals. All in all this was a pleasant surprise, albeit a downer thematically speaking. But hey, this is Dark Symphonies and not Sunny Side Up Records....
"The Last Moment" instantly invokes Celestial Season's great "Solar Lovers" with its use of violins, cello, and mid-paced riffing, though the guttural Death Metal bellowing of that band has been replaced by a higher pitched, thinner voice more akin to Lacuna Coil's male counterpart. Mid-era Paradise Lost (think "Draconian Times" with more sorrow and less anger) is also recalled, although The Third and the Mortal and My Dying Bride are instead claimed as major influences.
Nevertheless, so-called operatic female vocals that were all the rage some 5 years ago also appear within Elegeion. The voice of Dieudonnee actually has more in common with pop music like fellow countrymate Natalie Imbruglia rather than anything operatic, although a flair for the airy, Gothic style abounds. Said chanteuse also plays piano and "Scars" is fully attributed to her alone. The singing and piano parts of this song seem out of place on this album until the violin, cello, and bass accompany her and even then it is somewhat ill-fitting. This song could have been sung by Alannah Myles in 1990.
That aside, the session/guest musicians really make this record shine. The violin and cello are effective at building an appropriate sonic backdrop and the lead guitar is really quite good (courtesy of Chalice's Justin Hartwig). The drumming sounds like a good drum machine was employed at times and can be rather off-putting. Mainman Anthony Kwan's vocals are largely disposable, again, like those of Lacuna Coil, but because it is his band they stay. His riffs and themes are, however, well-suited to this style of music.
Ultimately this makes Left Hand Solution seem downright evil by comparison. Drain STH is Black Sabbath and Lacuna Coil is Arch Enemy if this is really Gothic Doom, at least by judging the female vocals. Definitely not bad for a band sprung from the ashes of an Australian Black Metal band. Elegeion's "The Last Moment" shows much promise. Perhaps using full-time, dedicated musicians instead of session artists would help their focus. Oh, and getting a decidedly less pop sounding vocalist would, too.
| Tracklist |
| 1. The Last Moment |
| 2. Scars |
| 3. Solitude |
| 4. Taste |
| 5. Heaven's Torment |
| 6. Wallow (instrumental) |
| 7. Confusion |
: 40.01
| Buy other Elegeion albums |
