Ex Libris is, in some ways, even more interesting than some of the other symphonic operatic bands, and I’ve found little not to like from those other members of the club. Their lyrics are a little darker, their musical structures are a little more complex, their vocals are more sophisticated and intricate. And those vocals come from one of the premiere vocalists in this or any other musical style. The female lead is sung by Dianne van Giersbergen, and no, she’s not related to that other van Giersbergen as I was informed in no uncertain terms. In fact, her vocals are not to be compared to any of the other Dutch singers, including those of the Magion lead, a band that has worked together with Ex Libris in live performance. And that’s probably an accurate appraisal. The Ex Libris vocals are different from many of the other bands; van Geirsbergen’s vocals are overlaid and are often placed against completely different musical lines on the CD. Don’t know if they can do that in live performance but on the CD the effect is stunning. There are male vocals as well and they prove interesting and work well with the format used by the band.

Amygdala presents us with 8 rather different tracks on this title. You have to read that someplace to get it, listening will confuse you, things start and stop at different times, making the entire work sound a bit like a mini opera. The final song, The Day Our Paths End covers some 18 minutes with a variety of styles and themes. But the music is outstanding, and the vocals even better. This is sophisticated metal, no American head banging 3 minute deluge of sound here. Of course, that’s not to say you don’t get your full daily requirement of metal, the Ex Libris guitar players, one male, one female, can bang it out with anyone. But you get a more complicated approach to the metal, the interplay with the keyboards is often the defining characteristic of long passages of music. But, it is the operatic vocals that steal the show, both individually and overlaid to produce choral works, often with the male vocals. Van Giersbergen is clearly a trained vox. You just don’t get this right out of the chute. She also does the lyrics and, I assume, some of the arranging. And that’s no minor undertaking. I was working on a Regression Analysis while taking a first listen to this CD, that’s a statistical analysis that looks at multiple independent variables and their effects on a dependent variable. . . and the thought crossed my mind that van Giersbergen can present at least a half a dozen individual sound lines, many at the same time, which have a significant effect on the overall character of the music for any one song. Now there’s an analysis that would be interesting to conduct. Those soaring soprano lines can literally take a listener to Nirvana, but she can just as quickly provide a dark dusky sound on top of a moody under current that is equally satisfying.

The music just can’t be divorced from the lyrics; it is a solid package with one complementing the other. And I can’t recall a work, short of Mozart, where the music so perfectly interprets the dark message. Amygdala opens with Dawn of Sugars, a pure Gothic number that features much of what the CD will offer, both in terms of the metal and the over the top vocals. And the message makes us aware that this will be a dark journey. Van Giersbergen sings:

This section is sung with a heavenly vocal which is interspersed with screeching guitars and howling keys. But, at the conclusion of the song, van Giersbergen moves to a haunting spoken approach to condemn the target of her wrath:

Love is Thy Sin is a more traditional Gothic number, sung with an operatic vocal over pounding guitars. It’s one of the more traditional numbers although it rotates between instrumental segments and vocal segments, again utilizing a very sophisticated mixing of those vocals. It’s mostly done in English, although not entirely, and van Giersbergen’s English is typically perfect, as is the case with most Dutch singers. There are some male vocals, compliments of keyboard player Koen Stam which are equally outstanding, can’t recall a duel vocal with this level of quality on both ends. I have no idea how he does it live, given the involvement of the keys in most numbers.

I guess it should be pointed out that there are really no short numbers in Amygdala. This one is one of the more compact tracks and it runs some eight and a half minutes, and the female vocals at the end are worth the price of the CD alone. Tarja may be the head of the class, but this is another A student, and this is her first attempt.

Breathe With Me finds van Giersbergen demonstrating her metal vocal initially. But, she rarely stays in any one register, even with this strong a direction from the lyrics. And, as is often the case with Ex Libris, there’s a range of passages to this number, hard ass kicking metal followed by Wagnerian sopranos. And some seriously strong guitar work when the occasion calls for it. Not sure which guitar player does what but there’s some solid axe work here folks.

It’s impossible not to discuss the epic of the work, The Day Our Paths End. But where to begin? There’s a story in the lyrics, dark and remorseful, beautiful and disturbing. And there’s a 6 or 7-minute instrumental work that closes the song and the CD that takes the best of Pink Floyd and makes it better. . . Pink Floyd never had a vocalist like this. The work starts out slowly, soft guitars paired off against one another with a base line in the background. As the metal cranks up, the keys develop the melody, which builds and then subsides, again to that soft guitar and an ethereal vocal line over a Gregorian like chant. But Ex Libris moves in different directions in the blink of an eye and the music begins to soar with van Giersbergen’s vocals going in multiple directions. It’s hard to describe this track, it’s 18 minutes of music that covers the entire spectrum of symphonic operatic Gothic, and all of it arranged in dramatic, beautiful and intriguing fashion. The lyrics certainly don’t disappoint either. Van Giersbergen sings:

The first 12 minutes are strong Gothic, the vocals drive much of the music with a tortured tone. However, at that point, the music changes into something of a chamber music style, with no vocals at all. A keyboard direction, with piano over synths carries much of the music. It’s a mystical sound, one that carries the music to a satisfying conclusion. We are left with a feeling of total satisfaction, with a music that will not soon be forgotten.

I’ve always been a Tarja fan, first and foremost. No voice really compared and the Nightwish message has always been at the head of the genre. This music compares favorably, and I don’t make that comparison lightly. Van Giersbergen takes a back seat to no vocalist and the production is as good as it gets.

Another Dutch masterpiece = 10 / 10

Review their music here: http://www.myspace.com/exlibrismetal