To-Mera - Exile
CD Info
2012
Illusionary Records / UK
8 Tracks
English Lyrics
I’ve had a weird relationship with To-Mera’s music since I first checked out the band in 2008. To-Mera was the first progressive metal band I ever listened to – and I quickly learned that was an ambitious choice. The London-based quintet is one of femme metal’s most technical bands, with a style characterized by intricate compositions, thrash influences, and jazz interludes. Really complex stuff, in other words, and challenging for a prog metal newbie (like myself, at that time) to follow. Despite my confusion, I really wanted to like the music and give To-Mera a fair chance. Since then, progressive metal has become one of my favorite metal subgenres. So, I thought it would be a good time to reacquaint myself with To-Mera by reviewing their fourth album, Exile.
Released in September 2012, Exile sees To-Mera continuing to forge their trademark sound. Each song contains harsh riffing, atmospheric passages, layered keyboard work spanning a vast range of sounds, and unpredictable changes and structures. The only constant in the capriciousness is singer Julie Kiss. Her delicate, ethereal presence differs so much from the powerhouse vocalists we normally hear in progressive metal bands. Kiss, however, handles the musical puzzle expertly. She injects a spine-tingling femininity into the mix and never misses a beat.
Exile is also To-Mera’s first concept album. Lyrically, it tells how the protagonist deals with tragedy by plunging herself into a self-imposed "exile" to protect herself from further heartache. Exile feels like a concept album musically, too. Most of the tracks segue into one another, and a Middle Eastern motif introduced on the instrumental kick-off, "Inviting The Storm," resurfaces throughout the record. To-Mera also enlists three guest artists for this opus: Ray Hearne (Haken) on tuba and percussion, Stephan Forté (Adagio) grunting on "The Descent," and Marcela Bovio (Stream of Passion) on violin. It’s lovely to hear Bovia – an incredible singer in her own right – contribute her other talents for once, and her parts enhance the concept’s melancholy. On top of all this, long-time To-Mera collaborator Brett Caldas-Lima returns for mixing and mastering, adding more sharpness and punch to the music.
Now, how to highlight specific songs on Exile… That’s almost impossible, because so much happens during each one! Anyways, "The Illusionist" sums up the record musically, switching back and forth from tangled arrangements and lashing riffs to softer, gentler jazz rock. It also captures the torment and emotional chaos the narrator feels. The same can be said about "The Descent," which careens through groovy verses, gentle acoustics, and blackened chaos. "The Descent" also contains some of Kiss’s most haunting melodies on the record.
From there, the variety keeps unloading. You’ll hear lush and freewheeling keys from Richard Henshall ("Deep Inside"), followed by an epic funeral dirge with chasm-like atmospheres and crushing doom sections ("Broken"), and then the juggling of dynamics that makes thrash sound shockingly playful ("End Game"). Even that list barely covers everything To-Mera thrusts at the listener during the course of Exile.
Yes, Exile is an involved record. It’s the kind that demands you to lose yourself in its sprawling siege of sound. And, that’s the only problem I have with Exile: I can’t find anything I’d do differently, yet the record fails to affect me emotionally. The concept promises a story that should cut to the listener’s core. However, the lyrics take a cerebral approach instead and turn Exile into an intellectual, outside-looking-in perspective on the protagonist’s struggle. Add in the musical technicality and expansiveness, and the album morphs into a distant thing of beauty. Several parts strike me as haunting or fun to listen to, but those feelings don’t sink in far enough or last long enough.
That said, Exile is still a sonic tour de force that’s bound to elicit a strong reaction from every listener. You might love it, loathe it, feel completely confused by it, or fall somewhere in between. Regardless, no one can deny that Exile oozes with some of the most virtuosic and admirable musicianship to grace the metal scene. It’s also To-Mera’s most accessible album to date (though calling it "accessible" is a stretch) and the one I’d recommend first to fans who’ve never checked out the band before. And even though I wasn’t completely satisfied with Exile, I plan on keeping it on my iPod for some time. Listening to this album closely and often helped me find what’s worthwhile about it: Few female-fronted metal bands are as challenging yet as able to shed a light through the madness as To-Mera. So, if you’ve been seesawing back and forth about To-Mera for some time, Exile may be the journey you should take to appreciate their music more.
8 / 10
Best Songs: "The Illusionist," "End Game," "The Descent"
Recommended for fans of To-Mera’s previous albums, and for fans of Symphony X, Pain Of Salvation, Haken, Seventh Wonder, The Gathering, and Stream of Passion
Exile is available for purchase at To-Mera’s BandCamp site , Amazon , iTunes , and other digital music outlets.
