Independent Release
Review by Tony Cannella
My goodness, what is this? I have to admit that I was pretty blindsided by the debut promo from Greece’s Seduce the Heaven. I turned on my Ipod and prepared to give this band a good listen before jotting my thoughts down. The next thing I remember, I’m picking my jaw up off the floor, and regaining my senses. In short, I loved this band, this album and I just simply was not prepared for the ferocity and all out merciless attack that these 5-songs provided. First of all, Seduce the Heaven have little or nothing to do with the current crop of female fronted, symphonic, operatic metal bands. They are a bit different in that their songs have a more straight-forward, modern metal approach with all the energy of thrash metal, without it actually being thrash metal (if that makes any sense). The duel vocals provided by female singer Elina Laivera and growler Vagelis Kolios are pure magic together. The vocals are mostly split evenly with each singer adding their own personal touch. Of course Elina’s style is a more melodic Cristina Scabbia/Amy Lee style, while Vagelis gives off an aggressive, go-for-the-throat style. It’s what helps give Seduce the Heaven their melodic style, whilst still managing to be a forceful, aggressive metal machine. The opening track “Fallen” really sets the pace with its huge guitar riffs. The vocals are supplied solely by Elina on this as she showcases her dramatic vocals. Vagelis doesn’t make his first appearance until the second song “Baseless Addiction”. This song continues the aggressive direction set forth by the previous song, but even more so, thanks to the hostile vocals provided by Vagelis and the crunchy riffs. The contrasts between the two vocal styles are put on full display here. The closing trio of “Field of Dreams”, “Illusive Light” and “Reflection” offers the listener an outstanding conclusion to this 25-minute disc. Despite the material being mind bogglingly heavy at times, Seduce the Heavens still manages to inject some great melodic moments into their sound. After the completion of the Seduce the Heaven promo, I could hardly wait to hear it again. Seduce the Heaven may be the best new band I have heard all year.
Rating – 97/100
Tracklist
- Fallen
- Baseless Addiction
- Filed of Dreams
- Illusive Light
- Reflection
Line Up
- Elina Laivera – Female Vocals
- Vagelis Kolios – Growl Vocals
- Alex Flouros – Guitars
- John Mcris – Guitars
- Christos Kollias – Bass
- John Thomas – Drums
Links
MySpace * ReverbNation * Facebook * Twitter * Site