Sleeping Romance - Enlighten (2013)

Metal music with women handling vocal duties is nothing new, as bands dating back as far as the late 1970's boasted either women as lead vocalists, or even some all-female line-ups, such as Girlschool or Rock Goddess.  In the last 10-12 years, however, women fronting metal bands has become a bit of a trend, if not an outright phenomenon.  From the rise of Nightwish right around 2000 (then helmed by Tarja Turunen), to the popularization of "gothic metal" by bands like Lacuna Coil (Christina Scabbia), Xandria, and Within Temptation, metal bands sporting a woman lead singer have become commonplace.  The formula is simple: take a talented set of musicians of any gender and pair them with a reasonably attractive woman who can sing, sprinkle in plenty of melody and give the guitars some grit, and you have yourself a female-fronted metal band.  Now in reality, it's not quite that simple, but when looking at the sheer number of bands that have been formed and introduced in the last 4-5 years alone, it seems like all of a sudden, metal bands with women as lead vocalists have come out of the woodwork tenfold.

The problem with this sudden glut of metal bands with vocalists of the feminine persuasion is that, like the glut of "glam metal" bands of the late 80's and early 90's, or the long running glut of European-styled power metal bands, most of the bands don't stand out enough to do more than become part of the landscape, rather than being a hill or mountain that fans of the genre might want to scale to discover more than what's on the surface.  To really make an impact, a band must either have ea unique sound and approach that separates them from the pack, or they have to have songs that really hit home and connect with audiences.  If a band can bring both to the table, they have the best chance to break free from the "scene" and garner a larger listener base.  Is Sleeping Romance positioning themselves to do just that?  Read on!

First things first: the name Sleeping Romance is kind of cheesy, so I want to get that on the table right away.  Not that half the names of half the metal bands on the planet aren't in some way cheesy, silly, or downright awful, but that is a first impression which may deter some listeners.  If the name doesn't put you off to listening to the band, then you're likely to hear a lot of touchstones you've heard before from other groups.  Punchy, bass-heavy guitar sound that shifts back and forth between muscular metal and groovy hard rock vibes?  Check.  Thick, full production that gives the proceedings weight and volume?  Check.  Talented players cranking out reasonably good tunes?  Check.  Vocals that range from Evanescence rocking to Nightwish-lite Tarja Turunen style operatics?  Check.  Is this all starting to sound a little too familiar?  Check.

In defense of the album, it all sounds really good.  The guitar sound is nice, with a real weight and depth to the tone.  It's not overly heavy, though there are a few chugging portions where the heaviness factor goes up just slightly, and it feels a bit more aggressive than it all really is.  When the solos come, you can hear that guitarist Federico Truzzi is a talent, and has some fretboard skill.  I will say that bass guitar is a highlight here, especially in "Soul Reborn" where the bassist does all kinds of runs up and down that provide a more interesting backdrop than the standard "follow the melody" sort of playing that tends to be the case.  Drum work is solid, if nondescript, though there are dynamics here and there which help make things less rote, notably during the softer sections of ballad "December Flower".  Otherwise, the drumming doesn't stand out as much, though that's typical for this style.  Vocals by Federica Lanna are the focal point here, and really, they are quite well done.  She has a voice and style that lands somewhere in between Tarja Turunen's highly operatic style and Christina Scabbia's more laid-back, sultry sound.  She vacillates between the 2 approaches, often within the same song.  This usually looks like a laid back verse vocal, and then a higher register, more urgently sung chorus with more of that overdubbed, operatic feel.  I'd like to hear a bit more emotion and inflection from her, but honestly, it's difficult to overly fault her performance here, because she sounds great and brings plenty to the table.  The male background vocals sprinkled throughout also sound good.

In terms of how I feel about the album, I can say that at first, I was somewhat ambivalent.  The music sounded good, but didn't do much for me, as I felt like I'd heard it all before, and generally done better elsewhere.  As I've continued to listen to the album, however, it has sort of grown on me slowly, with Federica's voice slowly beginning to worm its way into my heart a little.  Not to the point where I feel she's in the top tier of female metal vocalists (she's no Tarja, Simone Simmons, or Floor Jansen), but she has a good voice that she uses well on the record, and that's enough to take this debut up a notch.  Part of my problem here is that musically, they sound an awful lot like label-mates Darkwater with more symphonics and a woman at the vocal helm.  That's not necessarily a bad thing, but I already have both Darkwater albums, and generally prefer that band when they're playing power metal under the Harmony moniker.  Still, this is a competent album with well constructed songs that eventually begin to stick with you, despite the melody lines being less catchy than they ought to be for this style.  As this is the band's debut, it's hard to give them too much flack, since this is a respectable first effort, and one that I've enjoyed spending time with.  More time spent writing songs that have catchier melodies, or that flex the band's muscle more will help them get ahead.  They're at their best when they're making things more epic, like the excellent "Devil's Cave" at the end of the album, as well as "The Promise Inside" or perhaps "Free Me".  I just don't know how much I'll go back to it now that this review is written, and that's what the band needs to know going forward.  I will recommend this to gothic/symphonic metal diehards, and to those who simply cannot get enough metal with female vocals.  Otherwise, I'd recommend listening to this one first.

70/100

Vandroya - One (2012)

Female-fronted bands have become a "thing", in that they have become quite trendy over the last few years.  With high-profile groups like Evanescence, In This Moment, The Agonist, Lacuna Coil and others in the mainstream, there's no shortage of bands with female lead singers.  In the metal realm it's even more pervasive, with a large number of "gothic rock" or "gothic metal" bands having women as lead singers.  Several bands led the charge in the 1990's, including Nightwish, Lacuna Coil, and The Gathering, and with the combined success of those acts, many more groups started coming out of the woodwork.  Today, the market has been considered by metal fans to have been flooded with such bands, especially in the "gothic metal" scene.  Another growing area has been female-fronted power and progressive metal bands, and that's where Vandroya comes in.

Hailing from Brazil, this quintet has been around a few years, having released a demo in 2005, but only at the end of 2012 have we seen the band's debut album, "One".  Right out of the gate the band impresses with a nice logo, cool cover art (Felipe Machado), and a professional production courtesy of guitarist Marco Lambert and Heros Trench.  The addition of vocalist Daísa Munhoz to the band has made this a band to watch, not just because she is a woman vocalist in a metal band, but because her strong voice and ability makes this more than just "yet another female-fronted band".  Daísa has a natural ability that lends itself nicely to the band's style and material, and it will be interesting to see where they develop from here.

Instrumentally, this is quite competent.  Guitarists Marco Lambert and Rodolfo Pagotto have a solid grasp on melodicism, soloing without it becoming just speedy notes playing over a background, and a good overall sense of song construction.  The guitar sound is appropriate for this amalgamation of traditional heavy metal, power metal, and bits here and there where the music drifts slightly into progressive metal territory.  This approach keeps things interesting, because they don't really exist in any of those spaces entirely, but vacillate between them, which I think they do reasonably well.  It might feel to some as if the band doesn't entirely have an identity yet, but I think it suits them.  Bass by Gee Perlati is solid, never going for flashy runs, but sort of galloping along with the proceedings when speed is the order of the day, and rumbling in the mix when things slow down.  Gee's not doing anything you haven't heard before, but it's solid nonetheless.  Drum work by Otávio Nuñez is fairly good, with interesting bits here and there, nicely timed rolls and solid double-bass playing.  There are times that he reminds me just a bit of Murilo Marc from fellow Brazilian metallers Menahem, with well executed transitions and little pauses here and there to add effect.  There are also some nice keyboard and piano bits here and there, and little flourishes that give the album a bit more depth than just standard metal, which is nice to hear, particularly in "Within Shadows" when the song breaks down nearly halfway through for a minor piano diversion.

Daísa Munhoz has a good voice that is well utilized across this album.  She has a bit of Doro in her approach, in that she brings a bit of drama as well as including a bit of grit in the vocals here and there for some added aggression.  She can really sing, though, and I think she just might be one of the strongest female voices in metal from Brazil.  Of course, the spots where her vocals are double-tracked help that along, but it's apparent during verse sections where she's belting it out, or during slower, more mellow passages when her voice is more subtly applied.  Daísa has talent and she uses it well on the record.  She does kind of overuse certain tropes, i.e. specific wavering voice inflection or short vocal "runs" to highlight the end of a line in a verse or chorus, but that's a forgivable scenario considering the strength of her performance on this debut album.

Ultimately, the album is solid and quite listenable, but fails to catch fire as much as the band would like because the songs themselves aren't quite as distinctive as one would hope.  That's not so much a criticism as it is an observation of the band just getting started and still needing to find their voice.  Using "One" as an album title is either a lazy move, or somewhat pretentious, in that, despite the overall quality of the material, it's not good enough to title the album based simply on a number rather than choosing a title track.  The biggest flaw here is that the catchiest bits are the choruses when Daísa is belting out the notes over melodies that are somewhat memorable.  The rest of the material, while well played and having solid riffing, just doesn't stand out quite enough to stick in my head after I'm done listening.  For heavy metal and power metal in particular, this catchiness is a key element, and the band isn't quite there yet.  In a sea of quality power metal, Vandroya is still a small fish needing to soak in more influences and take more time to develop their songwriting before they'll have a real opus.  As it stands, however, "One" is a good listen and a solid way to start their career, showing that they have the talent and potential to go places if they take the time to develop their songwriting a bit more.  I will give this a tentative recommendation to those seeking quality female-fronted metal, or just looking for something new.  I enjoy listening to this, but I recognize the shortcomings for what they are.  I'd say this is a "try before you buy" release.

70/100

Eisley - Currents (2013)

Sometimes it's incredible to think that Eisley has been around as long as they have, considering that in terms of full-length studio albums, this is only their 4th.  Granted, there have been some problems with their former label (well documented elsewhere), and some relationship/marital problems were a roadblock between 2007's "Combinations" and 2011's excellent "The Valley".  True, the band was busy in the interim, with an EP release, touring, and so forth, but personal struggles and issues definitely got in the way.  And in some ways, I'm not sure that a new Eisley album each year would be something I'd want.  Some bands (depending on the depth of their material or the style they play) can release a new CD each year and audiences will eat it up.  But for a group like Eisley, despite the general immediacy of their music, each record requires multiple listens and time to let it "sink in" to truly appreciate what they're doing.

Such is especially the case with the band's most recent output, the appropriately titled "Currents".  The album follows an "ebb and flow" (sorry, couldn't resist) feel that centers around water as a metaphor of life and how it moves and changes.  While "Currents" may not be thematically cohesive enough to call a concept album, it's certainly more dense than previous works and has less immediacy in the material, requiring several listens to begin to understand the album.  Sure, the lead-off title track has a hooky chorus and the band's usual buoyant melodic sense, but the initial tone of the album is darker, even, than "The Valley" and may throw some listeners for a loop if they were expecting "The Valley" mark 2.  Ultimately, I think this works in the album's favor, because repeated listens will reveal the beauty within.

Instrumentally, Eisley is excellent as usual.  Guitar is a bit less a focus than before, as there are more layers and textures present here.  Specifically, the piano takes center stage quite a bit, and adds a lot to the sound of the album at a level that piano and keyboards haven't on previous Eisley releases.  Don't think there isn't some guitar to be found, here, however.  There are some nice bits here and there, between the echoing guitar ring in "Currents" and driving riff in that song's chorus, the clean-yet-dark tone of "Blue Fish", to the more jangly rhythms contained elsewhere, notably in "Millstone" or "Lost Enemies".  Overall, the guitar work here is quality, if a bit understated at times.  Drum work is also good here, with nice dynamics.  When songs need "punch" to them, like in the chorus of "Save My Soul", it's there, but they shrink back when necessary so as not to change the tone of the material.  I also applaud the band (wait for it...) for the use of cheesy hand claps in spots where it doesn't seem to make any sense to do so ("Save My Soul"), yet don't sound out of place while you're listening to them.  Bass sounds good here too, and is well utilized.  There are moments when bass drops out completely to allow the piano, drums, or guitars do their thing, and there are spots where the bass work is pretty minimal so as not to overwhelm the mix, but at other times the bass rhythms are quite complimentary to what's going on elsewhere in the song.  As mentioned before, piano and keyboards are often the dominant force on this record, and that is a bit of a change.  Piano & keyboard work has always been an integral part of the Eisley sound, but here there is just so much more key work that it really does outshine everything else in sheer presence.  Also more prominent here than before is the use of stringed instruments, and often to great effect.

Vocally, there's a bit less emphasis on the DuPree sisters' harmonies, though those are still present.  Instead, there's a bit of a shift toward vocals as an instrument, as there are a lot of non-word based vocalizations that fill in spots where one might expect a bridge, solo, or other song padding.  Being that this is a theme album, it works well in the context of "flowing water" and gives an aural representation of same, so I think it works well overall.  I'm not sure this approach would work as well on a standard album where the songs don't flow (I can't help myself) the way they do here, but I like this approach with the material here.  The individual vocal work is good, too, and there are some interesting melodic things going on, especially in the title track, and "Wicked Child".  I'm not sure this is there most boisterous performance (I still think the songs from "Room Noises" get that honor), but then the album's tone doesn't call for that.  Lyrically, the album tackles personal topics with some degree of metaphor, and touches on the band's faith at times ("Blue Fish" seems to touch on that).  "Save My Soul" is a bit obtuse, much like my favorite Eisley track, "Marvelous Things" from the debut album.  Other tracks, like "Real World", carry a much more universal message of love and the importance of strong relationships.  Some of the references to the "water" theme are quite subtle and don't add much to the overall theme, but that reinforces the fact that this isn't a concept album about water, but merely a batch of songs that sort of follow a thematic arch.  So while this might not be their "deepest" batch of lyrics (okay, I'll stop!), mileage will vary as to how much one is spoken to through them.

As I mentioned above, Eisley albums are not usually immediate affairs.  Their music is pretty instantly likable, but in terms of the songs on this album, I think they're the least instantly catchy batch they've put out so far.  Having said that, I also think this may be the best set of songs on any Eisley album, and I say that recognizing that "The Valley" was a really strong set of songs.  I'm still waiting for the band to repeat "Marvelous Things" with something else that deliciously weird and obtuse, but alas, they haven't done so yet.  In the meantime, they've written what I consider to be their strongest album.  It takes several listens to penetrate and really latch on to, but once you do, you may find yourself in the position I've been in the last several weeks - it doesn't leave your stereo or stray far from your playlist.  It's a rewarding album, and something I hope the band gets some traction from.  Despite the failure of their Kickstarter campaign to help fund the album's tour, I hope they can get out and play as many shows as their schedule allows them to, because this is good material that needs to be heard and appreciated.  How this stuff translates live will be interesting, because it's more involved than previous works.  Either way, they have set the bar high for the follow-up.  Highly recommended.

92/100