Review Summary: Sirenia's best album in a long time.
In
The Enigma of Life, Sirenia watered down their gothic/symphonic metal formula beyond a reasonable degree. It was their worst album by far, and it was chewed up and spit out by critics. More uninspired and lazy than ever, it was nothing but a lackluster hash of previous concepts that were poorly executed in the first place. With three rubbish albums in a row, Sirenia had struck the final nail into their coffin, and it seemed like there would be no escape. Fortunately, it only takes one good album to resurrect a dead band, and
Perils of the Deep Blue is that album. Sirenia have put a lot of passion into this release to create one of their best albums in a long time. It’s just a shame that it took them this long to find their stride.
In
Perils of the Deep Blue, Sirenia are no longer just going through the motions, they are playing music with an urgency previously heard in their first two albums. Expect catchier, heavier riffs, more engaging drumming, more harsh vocals, better instrumentation, and even better singing. Ailyn (the band’s lead, female singer) has a thin voice by nature, but her performance here is vastly improved and a surprising highlight of the album. She hits higher notes, tries new styles including some operatic vocals, and generally puts more gusto into her singing than ever before, and it’s entirely captivating. It took a while for her to prove herself, but Ailyn is singing on another level now. Her voice may not suit every song (ex: ‘Decadence’), but when she gets it the result can be beautiful.
A massive pro of the album is that the symphonic aspect is done properly this time. It’s still performed via keyboard sounds but it’s actually convincing this time, it sounds more organic and has a life of its own. Every aspect of Sirenia’s sound come together to create something melodic and beautiful, and that combined with solid songwriting makes for a very memorable experience. It’s not a bad experience either, in fact,
Perils of the Deep Blue is an enjoyable album from start to finish and that’s a huge feat considering its length, which includes a track that’s nearly thirteen minutes long. This is one of the biggest surprises of the year, and also sets Sirenia up to be a strong contender in the symphonic metal scene. It can’t get much better than this.
