While I generally don’t care too much for female fronted, sugary Gothic metal, a couple of releases of late have broken from the ‘Naplam Records’ formula and piqued my interest; the debut from Jennie Tebler’s Out of Oblivion (Quorthon’s little sister) and this 2007 debut from the gorgeous French artist Eilera.

With a voice as unique and beautiful as her looks, Eilera, helped by guitarist Loïc Tézénas and ahost of guest musicians, delivers a varied and surpassingly heavy take on female fronted Gothic metal that includes some electronc elements as well as the expected sultry take on classical/orchestral elements.

Rather than the usual Soprano siren’s voice, Eilera’s unique voice lies somewhere between Kate Bush and Dolores O’Riordan (The Cranberries), and often has some very unusual cadences and deliveries (i.e. “The Angel You Hate”, “Addicted”, “September”) here and there that might put off some listeners simply content for every female singer to croon like Christina Scabbia or Tarja Turunen.

Musically, there’s plenty of the expected cello backed Gothic overtones, as Eilera and co ply various paced crunchy tracks and ballads, but due to Eilera’s voice, a robust guitar tone and some electronic programming, there’s a distinct sense of creativity, depth and individuality to each track. From typical Goth trot of opener “Non Merci” and the title track, through romantic sway of “In The Present”, sexually charged “Healing Process”, somber ballad “Back to the Essentials” and standout metronome paced “Free… Are You?” with some very nice, heavy guitars.

In all, a slightly different and above average take on the usually predictable and soupy Gothic metal genre from an artist with all sorts of potential and talent.

[Visit the band's website]

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