The Fallacy - Love Division
CD Info
2013
Independent Release
12 Tracks
English Lyrics
There are some places on this earth that just seem to produce really good music in the Femme Metal genre. The Netherlands comes immediately to mind, Finland, Italy, others in Western Europe. And, a surprising number from Moscow and St. Petersburg, er, Russia that is. Others too of course, I don’t mean to slight anyone. But, Santiago, Chile is at the very top of my locations of interest. Six Magics, Denun, Sacramento come immediately to mind. But The Fallacy is right there with them, and they do a darker blend of Gothic, a melodic brand to be sure, but a bit darker than the rest. And that always works for me. And don’t be surprised to see my reviews coming from that location someday, I know enough about Chile to know it’s one of earth’s finest locations; I could spend the rest of my days there and be very happy.
Well, this is the third full release from The Fallacy. They seem to evolve their sound with each release, although there is the continuity of lyrical darkness to most of their music. The sound is lovely, not really hard metal here, no death metal, melodic but with a little different direction to the vocals. The music tends to reflect all that we cherish on this site, solid guitars, three on some tracks, but with keyboards aplenty ain’a. You get pianos, synths, lots of really nice background material to support the rest of the music. The vocals generally come from the two main vocalists, Marco Cusato who does the male vocals and Angeline Bernini who does the female vocals and the eye candy. The third player is base man Niko Arell. Some tracks give us all three of the major players in the group doing vocals, you almost get some choral work on some occasions. But, the production ties it all together, it’s top notch. It’s produced by Jens Bogren (Paradise Lost, Katatonia, Soilwork, Opeth, Valkiria, Amon Amarth, Kreator and others) and gives the music a well-integrated feeling.
Although there is some nice background instrumental music, that’s not what seals the deal here. It’s the vocals. Marco is a little different looking male vocalist. Reminds me of some of the guys from the City, er, New York, from back in the day, Lou Reed and others. He does that kind of vocal too, a sound from the dark days in the clubs in Manhattan. Angeline, on the other hand, does the more traditional female vocal we’re more familiar with on this site, not opera, but a truly interesting melodic sound that sometimes can get a bit harder, when necessary. And, it’s the tales they tell that make this music special, at least as much as the music used to deliver that message. Several of the tracks could be characterized as mood music, dark mood music but clearly in an emotive direction. They seem to use the background instrumental sounds to enhance this direction, but, again, the vocals are the primary delivery system. What they say and how they say it are the more predominant theme.
There are a variety of options in terms of the musical direction. Some are clearly ballads, others go a little more in the direction of metal, not the hardest metal, but sounds that clearly have the ability to get you off your seat and on to the dance floor. Most South American music has that capability and this is reflective of that perspective. However, the majority is probably somewhere in the middle. You’re here to get a story, a story delivered with a strong musical component, but a story nonetheless.
It’s interesting to note that the band seems to have a major following in Russia where they have considerable contacts. My information is that they will tour Russia later this year, after an 11 stop tour of the southern US, including Florida for a number of dates later this month and next. The band has traditionally toured South America; Chile, Columbia, Peru, Argentina, nearby locations. These new destinations are a clearly aimed at broadening the bands international appeal. Would that we could get the rest of the Santiago Femme Metal Mafia to follow them to the US.
The CD begins with the title cut, Love Division and this gives you a pretty good heads up as to what to expect. It’s nice Gothic metal, solid vocals and a dark message.
BLEEDING LOVERS / I SIT ALONE IN THE SHORES OF DESTINY
LISTENING THE STORM OF DIVISION
WHISPERING DEATH / STUPID MINDLESS
I FOUND MYSELF LIVING FOR YOUR MADNESS
TIME TO RUN
IS BETTER THAN RUNNING INSANEBLEEDING LOVERS
I SIT ALONE IN THE SHORES OF DESTINY / LISTENING THE STORM OF DIVISION
WHISPERING DEATH / STUPID MINDLESS
I FOUND MYSELF LIVING FOR YOUR MADNESS
TIME TO RUN / IS BETTER THAN RUNNING INSANE
Drops of Fire is the second big single from the release. It’s a bit more of a rocker; you get both vocals interchanging the story over a more pronounced guitar based background. Again, the message is dark, the sound reinforces this direction and we get some seriously fine Gothic. It’s a direction that continues throughout the CD, even with some limited incursions into less remorseful topics.
No Dreams at Home gives us a little more male vocal. It’s comforting for me to hear this type of vocal, it was a staple years ago with much of the music I enjoyed, it’s nice hearing it here. It’s also nice to get the guitar material here that’s a little out of the ordinary. And, the production here makes this a truly outstanding offering, not a traditional South American title, but one with some links to the genre.
Other tracks take us into more seriously metal oriented directions. Force of Nature gives us more of the traditional Femme Metal Gothic that we typically expect from this type of music. We get that solid metal direction that provides the delivery for a dark Gothic message:
PROTECT THE SOUL OF INNOCENCE
YOUR BELIEF IS OUR REASON
I FOUND THE HOLY VERSE OF DOOM
THE FIERCENESS REACH THE FANTASY
THE CHANT WILL SOUND FOREVER
I USE THE SWORD TO WRITE THE STONE
And that dark metal Gothic direction appears in other tracks as well. Die With Me is as Gothic as the title sounds. Here we get that duel vocal but with a harder vocal from the female vocalist. This one pounds out a metal symphony, lots of keyboard sounds, lots of hard desperation. It’s the Manson family call to eternity.
WOULD YOU DIE WITH ME? / NOW IS THE TIME JUST REMAIN STILL
AND IF YOU LIVE WITHOUT ME / DON’T HESITATE LET GO MY HAND
BEYOND YOUR NIGHTMARES / ALL MY FAITH LIES WITHIN YOU
CAUSE IF YOU DIE WITHOUT ME / ILL STAY FORGIVEN IN AN
ENDLESS PAIN OF DARKNESS
South American Gothic never sounded better. This is one that may not suffer from no Spanish lyrics, although I’d qualify that a bit. I suspect the band is probably closer to a Western European sound, even an Eastern European sound than what I traditionally expect from South America. But, it works for me, and there may be a concert review in the offing. I’m really tired of the snow in Wisconsin, and some solid Chilean Gothic in Florida later this month might just work for me. Stay tuned.
9.5 / 10
