PlanetMosh Keeping it Metal
Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water..
To say I’ve been chomping at the bit to get hold of this album to listen to is an understatement, one of Gothic Metals best loved bands are finally back on the scene with their sixth album ’Perils Of The Deep Blue’. In many respects Sirenia have always been a bit of an enigma, formed in 2001 by Morten Veland (formerly of Tristania fame), the bands path has at times been a rocky one and not just in the musical sense, with numerous line up changes consistency has been a very hard thing to achieve but with Mortens steadfast and resolute approach the underlying vision and ethos of the band has remained unchanged. Genre classics such as ’Nine Destinies And A Downfall’, ’The 13th Floor’ and 2011’s ’The Enigma Of Life’ are each milestones and in many ways define all that Gothic Metal is about.
However, ’Perils…’ puts everything previously released into the shade and that’s not easy for me to say, ’Nine Destinies..’ is after all, one of my favourite albums of all time and will always remain so but the grand scale of this latest offering just takes everything on to a whole new and wondrous level, a more complete and accomplished body of work you would be hard pushed to find.
Leading from the intro track comes ‘Seven Widows Weep’, a track that has everything, does everything and wants for nothing. Male vocal, female vocal, piano, strings, orchestral, choral and riffs that shake you to the core, it’s akin to listening to a whole album in a single track, with each listen, something else leaps out and grabs you, a plethora of sounds and visions surround and enchant, much like the mythical Sirens themselves.
Female vocalist, Ailyn really comes of age on this record, her ethereal and soulful sound is perfect, set against such a stunning musical backdrop as this, bringing each story to life in such a beautiful and remarkable way. The whole Sirenia sound on this album is one of a solid rhythm guitar base supporting further layers of Metal, infused with Classical elements and atmospheric piano segments that have you immediately hooked. Diversity is the key word here, each track, whilst gelling perfectly with the next, stands alone, listen to ‘Seven Widows..’ and then ‘Ditt Endelikt’ and the difference between the two is marked and yet they make such good bed fellows that it all flows seamlessly.
‘Perils Of The Deep Blue’ is as career defining an album to Sirenia as ‘Once’ was for Nightwish, it really is that good. Songs like ‘Decadence’ and ‘Darkling’ to name but two are stunning, whilst ‘Stille Kom Døden’ is as truly a spiritual experience as it is a musical one, demonstrating exactly what Sirenia have developed into, namely one of the leading Gothic Metal bands on the planet.
If you are a fan of Gothic and Female Fronted Metal, then this album is an absolute essential purchase, if you are not a fan of the aforementioned then this is the album that will convert you.
Track Listing;
1. Ducere Me In Lucem
2. Seven Widows Weep
3. My Destiny Coming To Pass
4. Ditt Endelikt
5. Cold Caress
6. Darkling
7. Decadence
8. Stille Kom Døden
9. The Funeral March
10. Profound Scars
11. A Blizzard Is Storming
Bonus Tracks
12. Chains
13. Blue Collen
Sirenia are;
Morten Veland – Male Vocal, guitar, composer
Ailyn – Female Vocals
Jonathan A. Perez – Drums
Jan Erik Soltvedt – Guitars
‘Perils Of The Deep Blue’ sees its release via Nuclear Blast Records on June 28th (EU), July 1st (UK) and July 9th (US)
