Review Summary: Boring. Boring. Boring. And boring.
The whole melodic metal/hard rock with operatic female vocals has been terribly overdone. It’s unfortunate that there will always be people who suck up all the repetitive crap the genre spawns, and it’s again unfortunate for us because this gives albums like Batalion d’Amour’s
Niya reason to exist.
Going into details with
Niya would simply be an exercise in monotony, as is the album itself. The album comprises of 12 tracks, all of which follow similar structures, meandering around with almost no technical vigor, and hardly a good melody. One could have forgiven Batalion d’Amour, had they at least built their songs around an interesting melody or two, but unfortunately, the bulk of the album is a chore to listen to. Sure, you may come across one or two tunes or riffs that are somewhat appealing, such as I did with a short and simple guitar riff in ‘Dotykajac Zludzen’, but on the whole the album is hardly anything special.
It’s an obvious fact that for any band like Batalion d’Amour to be successful, the singer has to be good. Karolina Andrzejewska sits at the helm of Batalion d’Amour, and she is decent, but it’s important to remind ones’ self that she is one of many. Many, many, many, many. It is in this regard that her contribution to the album really makes no difference. If she was the best singer I had ever heard, perhaps, but she has a pretty typical, deep and operatic voice, much like the singer from every other folk/melodic metal band from Eastern Europe. She also hovers around the same pitch for pretty much the entire album, adding to its repetitive nature.
The one thing I can say in favour of the album is that they have a number of songs in their native language of Polish, which is always nice. I personally think it adds a little mystery and intricacy to any album, but I’m sure there’d be some people who would disagree. Nonetheless, I found it odd that only half of the songs were in Polish, and the other half in English, as is evident from their track titles. It was bad enough that the music was a failure, but the one thing the album had going for itself is only half good as well.
Niya came to me out of obscurity, and thankfully that’s where it will remain. The album is a dull and lifeless, void of any thoughtful hooks or even melody. I’d hardly think anyone reading this would ever be in a situation where they would find or hear about this band, but if it ever happens, make sure to keep this review in mind!
