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On disc: Lyriel



Paranoid Circus (re-release) - Claudia Ehrhardt - 8 stars
Leverage - Claudia Ehrhardt - 8 stars


www.lyriel.net







Leverage

Leverage
(AFM Records - 2012)


German outfit Lyriel is presenting Leverage, their 4th album. Musically the band is on their way from folk metal to folk-ish symphonic metal. The violin and cello are still an important part of their music, just they changed.

The intro When It's Coming To An End is opening up Lyriel's new album Leverage. A slow countdown by singer Jessica Thierjung accompanied by different noises, the idea isn't too bad, but if you have an album which is just shy of 35 minutes, then a 1:39 minute long intro is a waste of time. At least you can skip it. The first real song is Leverage, a catchy heavy one with a symphonic edge.





Parting is dominated by a heavy bass line accompanied with folk-ish violin play and so the song represents the past and the present of Lyriel.

Voices In My Head is more aggressive and has an NDH-edge, but again Joon Launkamp's violin gives it something special. The song partly have a pop appeal and so Lyriel remind me a bit of Delain... Next in line a ballad called The Road Not Taken, based on acoustic guitar and vocals, but once more the violin speaks up. At Wenn die Engel Fallen Jessica Thierjung got joined by Schandmaul's Thomas Lindner, personally I'm not a big fan of this duet, even if it's well done. But it's only a matter of taste. On top I'm not a huge fan of German lyrics, so this might add to it. Anyway, with Side By Side and Repentance they have 2 more songs and finish this chapter too soon.

Lyriel are developing their own style, but next time I hope they give us more then 35 minutes and show more facets.


8 stars

Claudia Ehrhardt
 

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Paranoid Circus (re-release)

Paranoid Circus (re-release)
(AFM Records - 2011)


Lyriel was founded in 2003 and Paranoid Circus is their 3rd album which originally was released in 2009. Now as the band signed with AFM Records they re-release that album with 2 bonus tracks and a different artwork. And this time the cover looks really cool!

The Opening reminds me of the opening speech you would get at an international circus or variety show... That fits well to an album called Paranoid Circus. Welcome is the first song, here Lyriel combine heavy riffs, a dash gothic with Jessica Thierjun' angelic vocals. At The Feather In The Wind their folk rock roots show through, so Linda and Joon Laukamp's cello and violin are more prominent. Linda is also Jessica's counterpart at times. After the folk-ish melodic rocker they offer a heavy, riff-based tune called Elderberry And Lavender. But they also embedded slow, less heavy passages where Jessica's vocals dominate. They keep swinging between balladesque tunes and heavy, riff-based tracks. After Foeman's Bride they present The Wolf, a folk rock tune which starts with a spoken words passage. The Wheel Of Fortuna represents their heavier side while Lullaby stands for their balladesque side. With Conclusion the original release ends, it's just a short outro.





The first bonus track is a symphonic version of the title track Paranoid Circus, a bit more bombastic but still enchanting. The other bonus track is The Regret (Machin8 Remix) which is an industrial interpretation of the track. The song gets danceable, combines Jessica's melodic vocals with danceable beats. Quite interesting and well done, even if not really my cup of tea.

Folk rock fans who look for something different, should check out Lyriel. Some songs have a gothic touch, Jessica Thierjun has a similar timbre to Liv Kristine Espenęs Krull, but is more powerful.


8 stars

Claudia Ehrhardt
 

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           ©2008-2014 by Claudia Ehrhardt • E-Mail: contact@ice-vajal.com


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