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│ METAL CLASSICS ARCHIVE │
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│ P R E S E N T S │
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│ + Sleeping Romance - Enlighten + │
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│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Information ║ │
│╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Release Date.nov.-12-2017 Encoder......L3.97 -V2 --vbr-new ║ │
│║ Genre........Metal Graber.......EAC ║ │
│║ Year.........2013 Khz/Bitrate..44,1/ Br ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Ripper.......The_Patriarch Songs........10 ║ │
│║ Covers.......Yes Url... www.sleeping-romance.com ║ │
│║ ║ │
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│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Notes ║ │
│╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Artist : Sleeping Romance Rating : You Decide! ║ │
│║ Album : Enlighten Label : Ulterium ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│╠════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Description : ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Metal music with women handling vocal duties is ║ │
│║ nothing new, as bands dating back as far as the ║ │
│║ late 1970's boasted either women as lead ║ │
│║ vocalists, or even some all-female line-ups, ║ │
│║ such as Girlschool or Rock Goddess. In the last ║ │
│║ 10-12 years, however, women fronting metal bands ║ │
│║ has become a bit of a trend, if not an outright ║ │
│║ phenomenon. From the rise of Nightwish right ║ │
│║ around 2000 (then helmed by Tarja Turunen), to ║ │
│║ the popularization of "gothic metal" by bands ║ │
│║ like Lacuna Coil (Christina Scabbia), Xandria, ║ │
│║ and Within Temptation, metal bands sporting a ║ │
│║ woman lead singer have become commonplace. The ║ │
│║ formula is simple: take a talented set of ║ │
│║ musicians of any gender and pair them with a ║ │
│║ reasonably attractive woman who can sing, ║ │
│║ sprinkle in plenty of melody and give the ║ │
│║ guitars some grit, and you have yourself a ║ │
│║ female-fronted metal band. Now in reality, it's ║ │
│║ not quite that simple, but when looking at the ║ │
│║ sheer number of bands that have been formed and ║ │
│║ introduced in the last 4-5 years alone, it seems ║ │
│║ like all of a sudden, metal bands with women as ║ │
│║ lead vocalists have come out of the woodwork ║ │
│║ tenfold. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ The problem with this sudden glut of metal bands ║ │
│║ with vocalists of the feminine persuasion is ║ │
│║ that, like the glut of "glam metal" bands of the ║ │
│║ late 80's and early 90's, or the long running ║ │
│║ glut of European-styled power metal bands, most ║ │
│║ of the bands don't stand out enough to do more ║ │
│║ than become part of the landscape, rather than ║ │
│║ being a hill or mountain that fans of the genre ║ │
│║ might want to scale to discover more than what's ║ │
│║ on the surface. To really make an impact, a band ║ │
│║ must either have ea unique sound and approach ║ │
│║ that separates them from the pack, or they have ║ │
│║ to have songs that really hit home and connect ║ │
│║ with audiences. If a band can bring both to the ║ │
│║ table, they have the best chance to break free ║ │
│║ from the "scene" and garner a larger listener ║ │
│║ base. Is Sleeping Romance positioning themselves ║ │
│║ to do just that? Read on! ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ First things first: the name Sleeping Romance is ║ │
│║ kind of cheesy, so I want to get that on the ║ │
│║ table right away. Not that half the names of ║ │
│║ half the metal bands on the planet aren't in ║ │
│║ some way cheesy, silly, or downright awful, but ║ │
│║ that is a first impression which may deter some ║ │
│║ listeners. If the name doesn't put you off to ║ │
│║ listening to the band, then you're likely to ║ │
│║ hear a lot of touchstones you've heard before ║ │
│║ from other groups. Punchy, bass-heavy guitar ║ │
│║ sound that shifts back and forth between ║ │
│║ muscular metal and groovy hard rock vibes? ║ │
│║ Check. Thick, full production that gives the ║ │
│║ proceedings weight and volume? Check. Talented ║ │
│║ players cranking out reasonably good tunes? ║ │
│║ Check. Vocals that range from Evanescence ║ │
│║ rocking to Nightwish-lite Tarja Turunen style ║ │
│║ operatics? Check. Is this all starting to sound ║ │
│║ a little too familiar? Check. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ In defense of the album, it all sounds really ║ │
│║ good. The guitar sound is nice, with a real ║ │
│║ weight and depth to the tone. It's not overly ║ │
│║ heavy, though there are a few chugging portions ║ │
│║ where the heaviness factor goes up just ║ │
│║ slightly, and it feels a bit more aggressive ║ │
│║ than it all really is. When the solos come, you ║ │
│║ can hear that guitarist Federico Truzzi is a ║ │
│║ talent, and has some fretboard skill. I will say ║ │
│║ that bass guitar is a highlight here, especially ║ │
│║ in "Soul Reborn" where the bassist does all ║ │
│║ kinds of runs up and down that provide a more ║ │
│║ interesting backdrop than the standard "follow ║ │
│║ the melody" sort of playing that tends to be the ║ │
│║ case. Drum work is solid, if nondescript, though ║ │
│║ there are dynamics here and there which help ║ │
│║ make things less rote, notably during the softer ║ │
│║ sections of ballad "December Flower". Otherwise, ║ │
│║ the drumming doesn't stand out as much, though ║ │
│║ that's typical for this style. Vocals by ║ │
│║ Federica Lanna are the focal point here, and ║ │
│║ really, they are quite well done. She has a ║ │
│║ voice and style that lands somewhere in between ║ │
│║ Tarja Turunen's highly operatic style and ║ │
│║ Christina Scabbia's more laid-back, sultry ║ │
│║ sound. She vacillates between the 2 approaches, ║ │
│║ often within the same song. This usually looks ║ │
│║ like a laid back verse vocal, and then a higher ║ │
│║ register, more urgently sung chorus with more of ║ │
│║ that overdubbed, operatic feel. I'd like to hear ║ │
│║ a bit more emotion and inflection from her, but ║ │
│║ honestly, it's difficult to overly fault her ║ │
│║ performance here, because she sounds great and ║ │
│║ brings plenty to the table. The male background ║ │
│║ vocals sprinkled throughout also sound good. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ In terms of how I feel about the album, I can ║ │
│║ say that at first, I was somewhat ambivalent. ║ │
│║ The music sounded good, but didn't do much for ║ │
│║ me, as I felt like I'd heard it all before, and ║ │
│║ generally done better elsewhere. As I've ║ │
│║ continued to listen to the album, however, it ║ │
│║ has sort of grown on me slowly, with Federica's ║ │
│║ voice slowly beginning to worm its way into my ║ │
│║ heart a little. Not to the point where I feel ║ │
│║ she's in the top tier of female metal vocalists ║ │
│║ (she's no Tarja, Simone Simmons, or Floor ║ │
│║ Jansen), but she has a good voice that she uses ║ │
│║ well on the record, and that's enough to take ║ │
│║ this debut up a notch. Part of my problem here ║ │
│║ is that musically, they sound an awful lot like ║ │
│║ label-mates Darkwater with more symphonics and a ║ │
│║ woman at the vocal helm. That's not necessarily ║ │
│║ a bad thing, but I already have both Darkwater ║ │
│║ albums, and generally prefer that band when ║ │
│║ they're playing power metal under the Harmony ║ │
│║ moniker. Still, this is a competent album with ║ │
│║ well constructed songs that eventually begin to ║ │
│║ stick with you, despite the melody lines being ║ │
│║ less catchy than they ought to be for this ║ │
│║ style. As this is the band's debut, it's hard to ║ │
│║ give them too much flack, since this is a ║ │
│║ respectable first effort, and one that I've ║ │
│║ enjoyed spending time with. More time spent ║ │
│║ writing songs that have catchier melodies, or ║ │
│║ that flex the band's muscle more will help them ║ │
│║ get ahead. They're at their best when they're ║ │
│║ making things more epic, like the excellent ║ │
│║ "Devil's Cave" at the end of the album, as well ║ │
│║ as "The Promise Inside" or perhaps "Free Me". I ║ │
│║ just don't know how much I'll go back to it now ║ │
│║ that this review is written, and that's what the ║ │
│║ band needs to know going forward. I will ║ │
│║ recommend this to gothic/symphonic metal ║ │
│║ diehards, and to those who simply cannot get ║ │
│║ enough metal with female vocals. Otherwise, I'd ║ │
│║ recommend listening to this one first. ║ │
│║ ║ │
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│║ ║ │
│╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ │
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│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Tracklist ║ │
│╚═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════ │
│ │
│ 01 - Hybrid Overture [01:39] │
│ 02 - Enlighten [04:28] │
│ 03 - The Promise Inside [05:02] │
│ 04 - Soul Reborn [03:43] │
│ 05 - Free Me [04:31] │
│ 06 - December Flower [04:57] │
│ 07 - Finding My Way [04:11] │
│ 08 - Passion Lost [05:07] │
│ 09 - Devil's Cave [06:35] │
│ 10 - Aeternum [01:26] │
│ │
│ Total Length : [41:39 minn │
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│ ╔═════════════════════╗ │
│ ║ Greetings To: ║ │
│ ╚═════════════════════╝ │
│ │
│ Too all people who contributes to make this │
│ archive of good music in a exceptional conditions │
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│ │
│■ ■│
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