elis catharsis

Released: 30 November 2009 Label: Napalm Records

It is always a complicated thing to replace a vocalist, especially one who has been taken from us far too soon. In the person of Sandra Schleret, Elis have found a worthy singer to step into the shoes of the late lamented Sabine Dünser. Sandra’s voice has fitted into the Elis style exceptionally well in my opinion, transforming the band in the process. Even though many listeners find a change of vocalists difficult, I think that Elis fans should listen to Sandra without preconceptions – she has a great vocal tone, a somewhat deeper voice and perhaps even a larger vocal range than her greatly missed predecessor. Think Simone Simons and you won’t be very far from the mark.

The first four tracks are pretty standard fare – reasonable quality female fronted metal (a style I have been a fan of for much of my adult life). By track five, I was wondering if anything exceptional was going to come along and then on comes the track I Come Undone, which stands as the masterwork of the album. A wonderfully crafted, single-friendly piece of songwriting, which could break the band through to the next level if promoted correctly. Napalm Records, take note – this song needs a great video playing on every music channel. If anything, it is at this point that the band moves furthest into After Forever territory.

The album itself reminds me in places of After Forever in its musical style, which is no small praise. It is also a good move in terms of the market – with no After Forever, there is a gap in the market that a band can musically maneuver towards. I am by no means saying that Elis are a clone of the Dutch giants, as they have their own unique style - more that they have the ingredients within their band that could easily be guided to the same achievements. There are still some failings – some of the guitars are very choppy sounding and sometimes give the impression of a rushed recording. It isn’t a major fault, but is enough to stand out to a discerning listener who was not already a fan of the band.

For me, the other highlights of this rather interesting album are Firefly, Morning Star, Mother’s Fire and the final track on the album, The Dark Bridge. I found myself wanting to start the CD again once the last track had finished – that’s never a bad sign. Looks like this CD just got put on my Amazon wish list…

by Kev McCarthy