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After having parted ways with Napalm Records, Sirenia joined the ranks of Nuclear Blast and The 13th Floor is the second offering from them under this new alliance. Surely followers of Tristania, Epica and other renowned bands of the symphonic metal genre or whatever you wanna call it must be very well acquainted with the work of this Norwegian band who for this album introduce Ailyn as their new female vocalist replacing Monica Pederson as well as the addition of Michael Krumins on the six strings. In essence The 13th Floor serves as a continuation of its predecessor, Nine Destinies and a Downfall, keeping the same structures and instrumental elements of the aforementioned album, though showing an intention of getting a more refined, epic and dramatic sound.
In terms of production , the sound is definitely high quality. One can clearly appreciate every single musical element in every piece. I find the guitar sound mainly in terms of distortion greatly improved. On the vocal part, Ailyn brings with her a new color that undoubtedly offers an atmosphere different from that created by Monica, and sometimes I can even feel some vocal similarities with Lacuna Coil, Evanescence and Lullacry, thus offering a less operatic and more rock oriented approach. Even those familiar with the Spanish band Mecano will feel some similarities. In a nutshell, although her voice is not awful as some others I have found, it doesn’t stand out as one of the most notorious and recognizable in the arena of female vocalists within the genre probably because of a lack of dynamism that I do find in the vocals of Mr. Morten Veland.
In general this a good album, with very interesting musical elements and as a good exponent of the genre you will find your choral operatic parts, symphonic passages, a violin here, some keyboards there, basically all the characteristics of the genre and although it doesn’t stand out for its originality, The 13th Floor is pleasant for your ears, is harmonic, and gathers all the elements needed to please those who like this musical genre.
| Tracklist |
| 1. The Path To Decay |
| 2. Lost In Life |
| 3. The Mind Maelstrom |
| 4. The Seventh Summer |
| 5. Beyond Life’s Scenery |
| 6. The Lucid Door |
| 7. Led Astray |
| 8. Winterborn 77 |
| 9. Sirens Of The Seven Seas |
: 42:22
| Buy other Sirenia albums |
