eleanor
Breathe Life into the Essence
2013,
Black-Listed Productions
9 tracks
Japanese lyrics

I know most of you haven’t heard of this band but you might want to get acquainted, they’re on the bill for MFVF, one of the first bands from Japan to receive that honor. And the honor is richly deserved. The lyrics on this release are in Japanese, which may be a bit of a problem for some folks although their emotive quality somewhat belies that potential deficiency. This is a comfortable interpretation of Gothic metal, no matter what the language. And visually, and musically, there’s clearly no problem for any nationality. Interestingly enough, the band’s previous release was in English, however, for artistic purposes, they decided to do this one in Japanese. Their explanation there was that they felt they could better represent the emotive qualities of their music in their native tongue. But, it really doesn’t matter what language they perform in, they can crank out the metal with the best of them.

This is Gothic metal, but it’s the melancholic kind, you get the feeling it evolved from the doom metal material, which a lot of Gothic did, although not all of it. Now how that evolution occurred in Japan is more than a little mystery to me, but what do I know. The band does allow that it’s influenced by sounds like the Gathering (their name comes from a Gathering song of the same name, as well as the Beatles track with a similar name), which is decidedly NOT doom metal, and other sounds that might bridge the gap. But this sound goes in its own direction; there are progressive elements that take those melodic sounds in directions that may or may not be unique for followers of the traditional European Gothic. Either way you’re gonna enjoy this one in Belgium.

I’d argue that there are two overwhelming elements to this release: the vocals and the guitars. That’s not to say there aren’t other elements, there are. We get some keys, the drums are solid, especially on certain tracks, the base is not to be ignored. Oh, and there’s two really fine looking Japanese women to keep you focused on the upcoming live performance. Of course, this is Gothic, you’re not supposed to notice that. But, it’s impossible not to like the vocals and the killer guitar work. It’s almost a fixture that Gothic music is supposed to be conducted in English by European bands but that’s clearly not always the case. We get really great stuff from Eastern Europe, a lot from South America and some fine material from other locals, and in a variety of languages. Actually, the US is one of the last hold outs, and even here, there are signs of life beyond the Beiber and Jay-Z. But Asians have been producing material in this genre for a while, and eleanor is following suite with some fine traditional interpretations of the sound.

When I think of Asian technology I usually get the feeling that they do a fine copy. It’s not always original but the sure know how to copy things. That’s often the case with music and, to some extent, that’s the case here. But not completely. There’s certainly an element of following what we traditionally hear and the band acknowledges that and identifies a number of European bands as influences. But, in the grand tradition of Asian art, they seem to be able to capture the original, and make it at least as good, maybe better. The guitars are the first give away, as they often are with Asian material. These guys are as good as anything you’re likely to hear. They may not break new ground but they sure provide an interesting interpretation of the best that’s out there. The vocals are similar. There’s no opera here, our vocalists tend to be more pedestrian, but surely worth the time to listen to. And there’s an interesting lyrical presentation, you sure ‘nuff won’t understand a word but that probably won’t matter. Gothic music is emotional, it doesn’t always require a lyrical interpretation. So, what our vocalist is singing is more felt than understood. And, for us psychologists, that’s as important as anything, if we feel something from the music, that’s probably at least as important as what the vocalist is singing.

On another level, we have to consider the music strictly for the sake of the music, the lyrics notwithstanding. And here there is a universal communication. And these guys know how to communicate. When you listen to the guitars, the drums, the background music, it might as well be coming from Norway, from the Netherlands. It fits right in; it’s only when you realize that the vocalist is singing in a language that doesn’t fit in with the Western interpretation of what we expect that you realize that something’s different. But, after a couple listens, even that doesn’t seem to matter anymore. There’s almost a universal interpretation to the message, you feel the message through the music, you pretty much know what’s being said no matter what the language.

There’s some interesting musical deviations to this release. We begin with something that sounds like it comes from a Japanese coffee shop, it’s just the introduction. From there we go to something that sounds like an old European sound, with a background from a rain storm. This is really strange, what’s going on here? And, when we move to a Japanese vocal, we’re really left in limbo land, but it’s damn sure fine limbo land. The sound is melodic, Japanese melodic, and with some interesting metal to take care of your inner Goth. And the title, interesting enough, is A Rain Song. It pretty much sets the tone in some respects, however, the heavier guitar work comes a bit later, this is a nice, relatively soothing sound, for the most part anyway. But the following track, A Fatal Movement takes us to a more typical sound. We begin with a bit of a death metal male vocal, which puts the sound in the right direction. There’s some killer guitar riffs here, the relatively haunting female lead and some choral sounds to set things off.

Getting back to that message thing, the band allows that although they do spend time in the Gothic world(they played “Gothic Metal Goddess” in Tokyo) that’s not always the featured direction. However, the third track, Mourning, certainly fits the mold. Here we begin with a funeral like dirge conducted by the guitars. But the metal evolves; the drums begin to pound and lead to the darkest vocals of the CD. Guitar player Ippei relates that he saw this sound as an interpretation of looking down at his own funeral, talked to vocalist and lyricist Shiori about the concept and saw the song evolve from there. It’s a highlight of the release, IMO, dark Gothic just the way we all love it.

Another track that needs to be mentioned is Once. This one’s a better interpretation of the guitar capabilities of the band. It’s also a solid interpretation of the song writing and production quality of the release. This one stands with pretty much anything from Western Europe, assuming you don’t require an operatic vocal. It’s also a track that seems to address that notion that you don’t need to understand the lyrics to understand the feeling. This is solid emotive music by any standard.

Well, bottom line, if you’re planning to be in Belgium in mid-October, this is one band you don’t want to miss for a lot of reasons. We don’t get a lot of opportunity to see music from this part of the world, and this is something you’re going to enjoy . . a lot. See you there.

9 / 10

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