The band that spawned a million teenage goths, Evanescence, perhaps unfairly, are only really remembered for their debut album Fallen, but there’s a lot more to them than just the radio singles that record let loose on the world.
Surprisingly Sanctuary is only their sixth studio record, their last The Bitter Truth came out in 2021, but it does prove to be their most aggressive, written at the time of Trump’s re-election and the massive turmoil in their native USA, it’s an album of anger and frustration, highlighted by single Who Will You Follow but also one that looks for hope and humanity on How Do I Heal.
It continues the bands journey towards a more modern and overall heavier sound, the piano driven style of their earlier work of course never going away, the fact that a few of the tracks were co-written by Amy Lee, Zakk Cervini and Jordan Fish, injects some more contemporary sounds as all three produce alongside Nick Raskulinecz so Sanctuary feels massive and polished.
The throbbing electronics pulsate beneath colossal djenty riffs of Troy McLawhorn and Tom McCord, the hooky grooves of bassist Emma Anzai (who debuts on this record) and the pounding drums of Will Hunt. There’s also an orchestra that emboldens a few of the tracks including the title track and Self-Destruct as the piano still plays a pivotal role on Forever Without You.
Of course Evanescence has always been the vehicle for the unmistakable and I think unmatched vocals of Amy Lee. On Sanctuary she gives a fantastic performance yet again, bringing agility, emotion and rage on About Us. Lee says that with album she has “a lot to get off my chest” on this album and you can definitely hear that she has something to say on Sanctuary.
The entire ethos of the record being that it’s not a way to escape, but a way to cope and it’s a hell of a record to do it with. As so many bands around try to emulate the records of the early 2000’s, Sanctuary feels full circle for Evanescence, retaining the style that took the rock world by storm back then but refined into a more modern beast.
It’s their most coherent and cohesive album since Fallen, bringing all of the sonic experiments they’ve done since then and now together in to a record that defines who the band are now. 8/10
Tarja – Frisson Noir (earMusic)
If you don’t know who Tarja is by now then I’m afraid I can’t really help you, the Godmother of symphonic metal, she has been one of the performers, that most symphonic metal artists has been compared to.
Her distinctive soprano was the focal point of Nightwish for year but since then she’s embarked on a solo career that has been just as significant and successful, combining the powers of the classical world and the metal sphere to great effect.
As a result her solo albums are always both dramatic and intimate the two genres colliding in glorious way. With Frisson Noir, her new record, Tarja has not only released another great album but perhaps her heaviest to date, especially on the metallic side, while also expanding more towards other sounds and textures.
The classical side is of course the most prevailing, delicate piano, stirring strings, from concert pianist Niklas Pokki and violinist Mervi Myllyoja on At Sea. Orchestral swells coming from Apocalyptica on Tango, while Anemoia features flamenco guitar from Julián Bedmar and cello from Valter Freitas. There’s even a shamisen from Sayo Komada on The Trace Outlives all adding depth
Alongside all this the guitars chug and the drums pound with modern hued riffage. Komada is one of a few guests that ads something to this record the most nostalgic being, Leap Of Faith a duet with Marko Hietala. The two former Nightwish vocalist joining forces again after Tarja appeared on the song Left On Mars from Hietala’s album Roses From The Deep, and while this will be welcomed many may scratch their heads about Dani Filth turning up on I Don’t Care and Chad Smith (RHCP) adds some drums to Against The Odds.
Now I will say Frisson Noir is an album that needs investment, even at 10 tracks it feels long, it’s over an hour in length and every second is full of grown up compositions and a serious po-face of every note being very important. If you can give it time then Frisson Noir will unfold into a great symphonic metal record, that leans more on the classical side. 7/10
A.A. Williams – Solstice (RPM)
A.A. Williams has been a very potent name in the world of emotionally intensive music for a while now, making her live debut at Roadburn Festival of all places, she has gone on to support some of the massive names who are often linked to festivals such as Roadburn and ArcTanGent.
Surprisingly Sanctuary is only their sixth studio record, their last The Bitter Truth came out in 2021, but it does prove to be their most aggressive, written at the time of Trump’s re-election and the massive turmoil in their native USA, it’s an album of anger and frustration, highlighted by single Who Will You Follow but also one that looks for hope and humanity on How Do I Heal.
It continues the bands journey towards a more modern and overall heavier sound, the piano driven style of their earlier work of course never going away, the fact that a few of the tracks were co-written by Amy Lee, Zakk Cervini and Jordan Fish, injects some more contemporary sounds as all three produce alongside Nick Raskulinecz so Sanctuary feels massive and polished.
The throbbing electronics pulsate beneath colossal djenty riffs of Troy McLawhorn and Tom McCord, the hooky grooves of bassist Emma Anzai (who debuts on this record) and the pounding drums of Will Hunt. There’s also an orchestra that emboldens a few of the tracks including the title track and Self-Destruct as the piano still plays a pivotal role on Forever Without You.
Of course Evanescence has always been the vehicle for the unmistakable and I think unmatched vocals of Amy Lee. On Sanctuary she gives a fantastic performance yet again, bringing agility, emotion and rage on About Us. Lee says that with album she has “a lot to get off my chest” on this album and you can definitely hear that she has something to say on Sanctuary.
The entire ethos of the record being that it’s not a way to escape, but a way to cope and it’s a hell of a record to do it with. As so many bands around try to emulate the records of the early 2000’s, Sanctuary feels full circle for Evanescence, retaining the style that took the rock world by storm back then but refined into a more modern beast.
It’s their most coherent and cohesive album since Fallen, bringing all of the sonic experiments they’ve done since then and now together in to a record that defines who the band are now. 8/10
Tarja – Frisson Noir (earMusic)
If you don’t know who Tarja is by now then I’m afraid I can’t really help you, the Godmother of symphonic metal, she has been one of the performers, that most symphonic metal artists has been compared to.
Her distinctive soprano was the focal point of Nightwish for year but since then she’s embarked on a solo career that has been just as significant and successful, combining the powers of the classical world and the metal sphere to great effect.
As a result her solo albums are always both dramatic and intimate the two genres colliding in glorious way. With Frisson Noir, her new record, Tarja has not only released another great album but perhaps her heaviest to date, especially on the metallic side, while also expanding more towards other sounds and textures.
The classical side is of course the most prevailing, delicate piano, stirring strings, from concert pianist Niklas Pokki and violinist Mervi Myllyoja on At Sea. Orchestral swells coming from Apocalyptica on Tango, while Anemoia features flamenco guitar from Julián Bedmar and cello from Valter Freitas. There’s even a shamisen from Sayo Komada on The Trace Outlives all adding depth
Alongside all this the guitars chug and the drums pound with modern hued riffage. Komada is one of a few guests that ads something to this record the most nostalgic being, Leap Of Faith a duet with Marko Hietala. The two former Nightwish vocalist joining forces again after Tarja appeared on the song Left On Mars from Hietala’s album Roses From The Deep, and while this will be welcomed many may scratch their heads about Dani Filth turning up on I Don’t Care and Chad Smith (RHCP) adds some drums to Against The Odds.
Now I will say Frisson Noir is an album that needs investment, even at 10 tracks it feels long, it’s over an hour in length and every second is full of grown up compositions and a serious po-face of every note being very important. If you can give it time then Frisson Noir will unfold into a great symphonic metal record, that leans more on the classical side. 7/10
A.A. Williams – Solstice (RPM)
A.A. Williams has been a very potent name in the world of emotionally intensive music for a while now, making her live debut at Roadburn Festival of all places, she has gone on to support some of the massive names who are often linked to festivals such as Roadburn and ArcTanGent.
Leading to two acclaimed albums and three EP’s, her evocative take on music layered orchestrations, post rock shimmers, heavy churning riffs and haunting ethereal vocals drawn from the 90’s scene of PJ Harvey et al, Williams’ classical training always on show often juxtaposed with the cacophony of heaviness in her music be that volume or emotional.
It’s the sort of music where dynamics are key, from a single piano to an epic wall of sound Williams performs music you need to listen to, it’s not the sort of thing you stick on a playlist, maybe you could call it mature but I would say that it’s deliberate, there’s a vulnerability on this record, the songwriting is stripped back, plaintive and poetic.
It’s the sort of music where dynamics are key, from a single piano to an epic wall of sound Williams performs music you need to listen to, it’s not the sort of thing you stick on a playlist, maybe you could call it mature but I would say that it’s deliberate, there’s a vulnerability on this record, the songwriting is stripped back, plaintive and poetic.
Solstice welcomes the summer from the long journey through winter with both caution and hope, Hold It Together for instance moves from a piano to a cinematic expanse easily, the fragility showing her emotional depth and introspection while the louder portions invite release and catharsis.
Now I’m usually someone who loves this sort of music, I’ve very much enjoyed (?) the previous releases by A.A Williams but Solstice to me feels a bit too piano heavy, slower and more maudlin than previous efforts. I’m all for sadness and misery don’t get me wrong but the middle of this album drags a little, with a few songs that sound awfully similar; piano, vocal, build, guitars, close.
Now I’m usually someone who loves this sort of music, I’ve very much enjoyed (?) the previous releases by A.A Williams but Solstice to me feels a bit too piano heavy, slower and more maudlin than previous efforts. I’m all for sadness and misery don’t get me wrong but the middle of this album drags a little, with a few songs that sound awfully similar; piano, vocal, build, guitars, close.
Now maybe that reflects the mind-set of Williams but I feel it may have been better as two EP’s one loud, one quiet rather than a whole record. I’m not saying it’s bad, not at all the performance is as harrowing and mesmerising as usual, I’m just saying it’s a little too long and perhaps a little too stripped back in comparison to previous records. 7/10
Bloodhunter – Sons Of The Abandoned (ROAR)
Melodic death metal now from Spain as former Nervosa singer Diva Satanica returns with the new record from Bloodhunter, with some Spanish live dates alongside Crypta (again formed by ex-Nervosa members.
These live shows promise to be a melodeath feast so what can you expect from their fourth album? Bluntly. More of the same; blistering riffs, double kicks heaven, twin axe harmonies and Diva’s versatile vocal style which screams, roars and even adds some clean backing vocals for the first time.
Album four begins with the incendiary The Devil’s Own and the influences of Arch Enemy, Devildriver and Hypocrisy come through as the technically precise melodeath is joined by groove metal grunt, the lyrics dealing with human and historical themes while the musical palette is also expanded through some atmospheric moments that cut through the heaviness.
However there are not many as must admit I got to the middle of the record and was starting to lose my interest a little as the guitar/drum sound is very similar for every track, making many of them merge together into a melodeath malaise. Only The Night Before Dawn, which is an acoustic interlude, recapturing my interest.
Joining Diva are a couple of high profile guests as The Threshold Of Hell features Fernando Riberio of Moonspell while The Path That Never Ends has Laura Guldemond of Burning Witches, but besides a few songs the most appealing part of this record is a cover of Human Insecticide by Annihilator, if there was more of this on the record the balance would be better.
Sons Of The Abandoned is a fine melodeath album but just that, fine. 6/10
Bloodhunter – Sons Of The Abandoned (ROAR)
Melodic death metal now from Spain as former Nervosa singer Diva Satanica returns with the new record from Bloodhunter, with some Spanish live dates alongside Crypta (again formed by ex-Nervosa members.
These live shows promise to be a melodeath feast so what can you expect from their fourth album? Bluntly. More of the same; blistering riffs, double kicks heaven, twin axe harmonies and Diva’s versatile vocal style which screams, roars and even adds some clean backing vocals for the first time.
Album four begins with the incendiary The Devil’s Own and the influences of Arch Enemy, Devildriver and Hypocrisy come through as the technically precise melodeath is joined by groove metal grunt, the lyrics dealing with human and historical themes while the musical palette is also expanded through some atmospheric moments that cut through the heaviness.
However there are not many as must admit I got to the middle of the record and was starting to lose my interest a little as the guitar/drum sound is very similar for every track, making many of them merge together into a melodeath malaise. Only The Night Before Dawn, which is an acoustic interlude, recapturing my interest.
Joining Diva are a couple of high profile guests as The Threshold Of Hell features Fernando Riberio of Moonspell while The Path That Never Ends has Laura Guldemond of Burning Witches, but besides a few songs the most appealing part of this record is a cover of Human Insecticide by Annihilator, if there was more of this on the record the balance would be better.
Sons Of The Abandoned is a fine melodeath album but just that, fine. 6/10
