In a world of music that is often times dominated by a male force, it’s nice to see a shining beacon of light in female form. Elysion was a bit of a “curve ball” for me, but I love hearing new bands and was up to the challenge. If there is one thing to take note of when it comes to gothic metal/alternative/pop-rock band Elysion, it is that Christianna can sing and sing well. Sure, a good front man (or front woman, in this case) is great to have, but can the rest of the band follow suit and complete the package? Will Silent Scream land a notable place in our album collections or scream in complete silence? Let’s get into it and find out.
Throughout Elysion’s Silent Scream album there are hints of gothic rock, alternative and even pop rock roots; complete with atmosphere and a broad spectrum of range, which is ultimately carried by Christianna’s beautiful vocal work. I actually had a bit of trouble categorizing them. Each song meshes some of the characteristics that you come to expect in a band that is comparable to acts such as Lacuna Coil and Evanescence. Keyboards and pianos, soaring guitar lines, angelic backup vocals and synth work here and there. Christianna’s vocals can be described as a cross between Cristina Scabbia (Lacuna Coil), Amy Lee (Evanescence) and even has hints of Shakira (God help us!) in certain tonal qualities. Silent Scream is filled with ballad-quality tracks and boasts both engulfing atmospheric moments, as well as some catchy chorus lines. Every song on the album is very radio-friendly and if you are not a fan of bands like the aforementioned Lacuna Coil and Evanescence, you will probably want to avoid this at all costs. Heck, I’m not even a fan of either but I gave Silent Scream a few spins. What can I say? I have a hard time resisting a pretty face.
Now onto the bad and unfortunately for Elysion’s Silent Scream, there is more than I’d like to mention. Where the album soars beautifully, it falls equally flat and becomes completely forgettable at times. I found that a few of the songs sounded far too similar in both chord progression, tempo and structure. A few times I felt like I was listening to the same song rehashed. Also, if you are not into ballad-type songs, run away from this album. Far, far away. This album has a lot of ballad qualities to it, which isn’t necessarily a terrible thing, but it also doesn’t offer us anything new and ground-breaking. The repetitiveness carried over into the lyrical department as well. With songs like “Dreamer” and “Never Forever”, I felt like the choruses were just being repeated so that the band could stretch the track out longer than it needed to be. After a few spins of the album, I found myself skipping the ends of songs because of it. Don’t expect to hear anything absolutely stunning in the instrumental department as well. Don’t get me wrong, this album has some beautiful moments (“Weakness In Your Eyes” and “Far From The Edge” stood out for me) but the album is chock full of your typical palm muting and power chords, accompanied by your standard strums. Nothing amazing.
Bottom line: Will I leave Elysion’s Silent Scream in my iTunes library and my album collection? Yeah, it’s not a bad album by any means. Will it break any ground and set any new standards? Not at all. It’s a very safe album and stays within the box throughout most of its spin life. Elysion is a great band with talented musicianship and a gorgeous front woman (in both voice and appearance—Christianna and Cristina from Lacuna Coil could be sisters!) but I think Elysion kept it safe on this one. This installment will please their fanbase, but I don’t think it will win any awards for originality.
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One Comment
January 30th, 2010 at 7:53 pm
After a few more spins of this album, I have to give the band a little more credit than I did initially. There are some shining solos spread throughout the album and the songs stick after a while.
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