A new collection of songs from the siren is always welcome for me because as far as symphonic metal is concerned these Norwegians have long been a firm favourite of mine. If you know their history you will be well aware that they formed after Morten Veland split off from former band Tristania and gave us not double bubble quite honestly as both groups seemed to go from strength to strength. It was probably the 2007 album ‘Nine Destinies And A Downfall’ that really did it for me creating a big impression with its hooky melodies and sweet and sour vocal interplay between Morten and Monika Pedersen. Unfortunately she was to leave but the band pulled together and a new female vocalist was found in the form of Spanish singer Ailyn aka Pilar Giménez García and have worked with her on the last few albums.
Perils Of The Deep is the group’s sixth album and one that its composer states is “the work of 2 and a half years of blood sweat and tears.” It certainly looks ambitious, noting before play is pressed that it has a rather epic(a) amount of songs on it and one is over 12 minutes long. Of course you may not have got that far if you actually have it on disc as the front cover artwork by Anne Stokes is enough to distract. We are eased in gently to the vocal choral symphony of ‘Ducere Me In Lucem’ which builds lushly before the full walloping swagger of Seven Widows Deep batters in. Could this be Sirenia’s Carmina Burana? It certainly suggests it even if the jagged guitar might not have been involved when that classic piece was originally composed. It is Morten’s rasps we hear first but only a while before Ailyn makes an impressive entry, one that comes close to taking your breath away. It’s pompous stuff but it is driving and as far as I am concerned dynamic enough to put it up there with the best that the genre has to offer. As we progress it is evident that Morten really has studied the past and puts the best of the old and modern world together in his heady arrangements.
I cannot give them a complete joyride though, like I said the album is long and although I love the sound of Ailya and have no problem with some beastly growls, leaving a track like ‘Ditt Endelikt’ to clean male harmonic vocals is not what I want to listen to in this sort of music. Besides that it sounds like it is the band’s attempt to have got in on the Eurovision song contest act; awful just bloody awful number, skip button every time. Luckily that is the only real shoot it in the head moment and we are back with that ‘Cold Caress’ of the female vocals which no doubt could easily have sailors dashing themselves on the rocks to get closer to. There is a bit of an electro beat going through ‘Decadence’ and this could be a song for a club dance floor, it also has one of the catchiest melodies chorus wise of the album. As for the long number it’s quite a ballad in places but rocks out in others and even descends into some proggy death metal bits. A recurring jagged keyboard refrain keeps momentum in the quieter moments and ‘Stille Kom Døden’ shows that Ailyn has no problem singing in Norwegian.
There is a lot to take on here. It definitely feels like you are getting your money’s worth with the full on sound and the strong arrangements. It’s like going to the cinema to see a blockbuster rather than staying in to watch a straight to video movie basically. The strongest number on repeated listens is ‘The Funeral March’ but how the hell can a song with a title like this sound so damn cheerful? I guess it’s a big celebration of life and there’s plenty of that in the album and fans of the style should certainly come out the listening experience feeling enthused.
(7.5/10 Pete Woods)
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