Ann Mari - Arcane (Sweden)
Christina Kroustali - Die Vennbarten Kinder Evas (Austria)
Eirin Bendigtsen - Where Angels Fall (Norway)
Elisa Luna – Gasth of Rose (Italy)
Heidi Mannstrom (Finland)
Morgan Lacroix - Mandragora Scream (Italy)
Sophia - Urn (EEUU)

As is traditional today, these women never visited Montevideo; their vocals were recorded elsewhere and mixed in South America. The instrumentals are equally strong, with a classically oriented guitar, violin and symphonic segments interspersed resulting in music that is beautiful to behold.

This is not the type of music we generally feature on this site. However, female fronted covers a lot of territory. And beautiful female vocals are hardly a stranger to this music. But, this is not music I would traditionally classify as metal, even given the strong metal background of the performers. Instead, it demonstrates the capability of these artists to move in a different direction. And diversity is the spice of life; there certainly are times when I want something a little lighter. Like yesterday when that SAS code for a logistical regression problem was driving me crazy.

The work is largely attributable to Villarreal, written, produced and much of the instrumental music. But the use of vocals that may be associated with the Gothic sound does not interfere with the music going in some different directions at time. Indeed, four of the titles are pure instrumental. The rest feature the individual vocalists and seem to capture capabilities these artists might not feature while working in their other environments. Of course, we can imagine that there is individual interpretation by each artist to the music they were handed; after all, Martin wasn’t in the studio with them when they recorded. So, we have a musical entity for each song that represents a variety of perspectives in the final product: the writer, the performer, and the final production influence. And this can lead to some interesting final results.

The CD begins with a lovely selection sung by the Swedish vocalist from Arcana, Ann Mari entitled Garden of Passion. Arcana are a Swedish Gothic metal band, one that produces some interesting sounds, and with a voice like Ann Marie, there’s a lot you can do. Ann Marie is the only vocalist on the CD who gets two tracks, the opening one here and a second title Pledge of Love. She probably comes the closest to the operatic vocal of the seven, but she doesn’t necessarily focus on that direction in either song. But the range is substantial, and hers is a quality-trained vox, classically oriented. The instrumental background is largely keyboard oriented, however, there is an interesting percussion component as well, one that is utilized throughout the entire CD. Ann Marie uses two rather distinct vocal styles here, you almost think there are two vocalists working, but both provide a solid sound, one that clearly reflects the Gothic. An occasional string interlude provides a classical sound that underscores the vocal.

The second song utilizes the dark vocals of Morgan Lacroix from the Italian band Mandragora Scream. If the first selection wasn’t dark enough for you, this one should be. Again, the keyboards are played off against a restrained string selection. Lacroix is known for a dark delivery and she displays that capability here. The song is entitled From the Heart, and it serves up a message of haunting beauty. The vocals here, as they are on several of the titles on the CD, utilize several tracks with the individual vocalists. Consequently, the song sounds like there are several vocalists, and the tone is sufficiently different to make that auditory hallucination all the more real. Lyrically, the message reflects the darkness that is heard both vocally and with the instrumental section:

Christina Kroustali from the Austrian band Die Verbannten Kinder Evas takes the stage for the next selection, one that features some of the best vocal and instrumental on the CD. Kroustali sings some deeply Gothic material with her primary band but here she showcases a vocal that is beautiful and full of range. The song is All Behind and it comes close to some of the more traditional Gothic we hear on this site regularly. Beautiful and touching.

Heidi Mannstrom from Finland follows. She’s long been one of my favorites and she doesn’t disappoint here. Again, the song begins with keyboards, the beat adjusts to a quicker rhythm, a string instrument joins in and we are introduced to one of the finer voices in Gothic music. Not operatic, but beautiful and flowing over a lovely instrumental background. Luna has a voice that works in a number of areas, and here it is perfect, capturing a song of infinite sadness.

Elisa Luna from the Italian band Gasth of Rose handles the vocals on Tears from the Sky. Again, one of the finer vocalists from the genre, and she captures a dark lyrical message with customary excellence. Luna works with a number of South Americans but here she demonstrates a capability I haven’t necessarily heard before. The message is one that reflects the Gothic, and is presented with that in mind.

And finally, the seventh vocalist, Eiren Bendigtsen from the Norwegian band Where Angels Fall takes us to the final vocal presentation, Silent Mystic. As is the case with each of the preceding vocalists, we are presented with a vocal presentation that requests the most beautiful from each artist. No heavy metal, no screaming vocals, we get a different direction here. And, again, it is beauty in a most profound way.

Martin has produced something different here. His next production is suggested to be a return to the metal that has driven him for many years. But here, we are presented with music that reflects what top female vocalists can do when asked to tone it down a notch. Not every vocalist can do that, not every musician can go in this direction and present us with 12 completely original beautiful songs. And rarely do we get the opportunity to hear such lovely music from some of the finest singers in the Gothic realm.

Beautiful.

9 / 10