Combien de groupes français pouvez-vous nommer? GOJIRA? DAFT PUNK? Exactement...but no, seriously, for a long time, Daft Punk have probably been France's biggest musical export, and while Gojira may very well be the darlings of heavy metal right now, especially on the live stage, unless you are already familiar with the French scene and have done your homework, then very few will name any established or notable artists, regardless of genre...but, having mentioned them already, Gojira's success has opened the doors for more French bands, giving us a glimpse into an untapped market of music. One band hoping to get noticed are TALVIENKELI (meaning Winters Angel, in Finnish, because of a collective love of Scandinavian culture)...formed in Lyon in 2012, this progressive, symphonic-metal outfit signed with WORMHOLE DEATH RECORDS (who, despite being based in Florence, have offices in Tokyo and Los Angeles too, so they are in good hands!) to release their up-coming brand new album; "Hybris"...Shall we check them out? Bon appetit as they say...
We open up with "Hybris Part II" and it's like stepping into a lullaby, a dreamscape...the simplistic tinkling of the piano and soft strings coupled with Camille Borrelly's delicate operatic vocals make for an almost icy, haunting introduction, appropriate given their name I suppose, before we're suddenly subject to a surging dose of symphonic almost orchestral metal...this whole thing; the way it's structured and delivered is VERY NIGHTWISH and it's apropos as they are one of the bands primary influences...imitation is the sincerest form of flattery as they say, right? At over seven minutes though, it's quite the introduction...
"Burning Flesh" follows up and it's got a much harder overall approach, with the initial power of the drumming, the guitars too having a more riff-heavy sound, the inclusion too of some spoken-word content adds a slightly dramatic feel to the track...the flurry of keyboards again pays homage to Tuomas Holopainen of NIghtwish, likewise with "Immortal", which is probably the meatiest track on offer, similarly too "Atlas" has more heavy elements, but, while it's perfectly fine to emulate your heroes, it also comes with it's downsides. For example, while she clearly has a decent range, Camille is no TARJA...and sometimes her notes sound erratic and to some extent, forced...there are moments on "Hybris Part I" where it's almost like she can't cope with the faster, heavier aspects of the music, and given the length of the tracks, "Quill Of Dust" for example nearing the ten minute mark, you often find yourself simply waiting for a track to end, which, doesn't particularly instill any excitement or great expectation in the listener as the album progresses.
Musically though they are generally solid, they pull off the style well and do the genre no real injustice, as symphonic metal goes it's in no way poor, and as mentioned Camille does clearly have a voice on her, if she tightened up just slightly and maybe didn't over-do some of the high notes, and possibly sacrificed some song length for perhaps focusing on more of strong single or two to promote, they do show a lot of potential to establish themselves alongside the likes of the aforementioned Nightwish and LEAVES EYES...I guess all you could say for now is, it lacks a certain...je nais sais quoi. [5]
We open up with "Hybris Part II" and it's like stepping into a lullaby, a dreamscape...the simplistic tinkling of the piano and soft strings coupled with Camille Borrelly's delicate operatic vocals make for an almost icy, haunting introduction, appropriate given their name I suppose, before we're suddenly subject to a surging dose of symphonic almost orchestral metal...this whole thing; the way it's structured and delivered is VERY NIGHTWISH and it's apropos as they are one of the bands primary influences...imitation is the sincerest form of flattery as they say, right? At over seven minutes though, it's quite the introduction...
"Burning Flesh" follows up and it's got a much harder overall approach, with the initial power of the drumming, the guitars too having a more riff-heavy sound, the inclusion too of some spoken-word content adds a slightly dramatic feel to the track...the flurry of keyboards again pays homage to Tuomas Holopainen of NIghtwish, likewise with "Immortal", which is probably the meatiest track on offer, similarly too "Atlas" has more heavy elements, but, while it's perfectly fine to emulate your heroes, it also comes with it's downsides. For example, while she clearly has a decent range, Camille is no TARJA...and sometimes her notes sound erratic and to some extent, forced...there are moments on "Hybris Part I" where it's almost like she can't cope with the faster, heavier aspects of the music, and given the length of the tracks, "Quill Of Dust" for example nearing the ten minute mark, you often find yourself simply waiting for a track to end, which, doesn't particularly instill any excitement or great expectation in the listener as the album progresses.
Musically though they are generally solid, they pull off the style well and do the genre no real injustice, as symphonic metal goes it's in no way poor, and as mentioned Camille does clearly have a voice on her, if she tightened up just slightly and maybe didn't over-do some of the high notes, and possibly sacrificed some song length for perhaps focusing on more of strong single or two to promote, they do show a lot of potential to establish themselves alongside the likes of the aforementioned Nightwish and LEAVES EYES...I guess all you could say for now is, it lacks a certain...je nais sais quoi. [5]
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