Review Summary: Fallenmania, part 1
Reviewing We Are the Fallen and Macbeth wasn't enough. I need to talk about the other ones, away from straight up gothic metal. Whatever you think about "Fallen", it definitely has made an impact, one that can still be felt today. Its odd mixture of nu metal, alt rock, gothic metal and piano-playing singer-songwriter felt unique, as those styles usually didn't go together, but still very radio-friendly and easy to copy. Obviously, that meant the imitators would soon follow, and in this new series, we'll look at some of the strangest ways people have tried to make their own versions of "Fallen". Good or bad, there's a lot to say about them.
This leads us to Eowyn, a Christian rock/metal singer named after a Lord of the Rings character, and her 2008 album Silent Screams. That alone is sure to draw my attention, but what album the album itself? Well, one thing that you immediately notice is that it’s a lot heavier than its obvious inspiration. Of course, it’s still alternative rock/metal, but definitely on the heavier side. Eowyn’s voice is also somewhat more powerful and aggressive. There are even a few screams in the background, contrasting with her not extraordinary but pretty good singing. Even if the music isn’t always great either, her voice is the best thing about this album, with its pretty sound and her ability to go from soft, almost whispered singing to a soaring chorus.
What about the music? The first track, “Crashing”, shows us everything that the album is about, with its eerie vocals, industrial touches and heavy alt metal riff. Then we move into the next “Life”, which has another tasty riff that sounds a little too much like the one from “Crashing”. This is where the album gets kind of repetitive, not a good sign since we’re only on track two. “To My Surprise” is the most obviously religious song on the album, and musically, it’s probably the dullest, not even as heavy as the others. “Unfinished Memories” is a rather dull ballad, but at least the occasional electronic beat is a nice touch, though it feels completely out of place. Eowyn is usually a good singer, but not in this one, where she sounds weirdly hoarse and tired from over-singing.
The title track is another example of what the album does both right and wrong. It’s another combination of heavy riff and industrial sounds, with powerful singing on the verses and a real sense of desperation, it sounds like a really great build up to the chorus… which is just a much duller “with silent screams out loud…”, where all the energy seems to fade. There are occasional screams and speak-singing from a male guest vocalist, which make the song really feel like the poor man’s “Bring Me To Life”. It’s still one of the highlights of the album, but its flaws are still apparent.
There are a few other nice songs, when she tries different things. “Hands of Time” is all about the industrial sound, with a strange and dark atmosphere. “Significant” is similar, though less interesting, except for her weird vocalizations. “Runaway” has some real energy, and sounds like a mix of Linkin Park and Alanis Morrissette in the best of ways. But “Goodbye" has the same electronic sound as “Crashing”, and “Saving Grace” is too similar to the others, and boring except for its piano loop. She likes to repeat two simple notes on the piano on her songs.
Even with those ideas, it’s the kind of album that you need to listen to a bunch of times to really tell the songs apart, or remember them. Unfortunately, it’s not exactly the kind of album that really deserves many listens. It has the right ingredients, but doesn’t know how to use them in a way that can truly impress the listener, or really rise above its obvious influence. I don’t like to reduce Eowyn to an Amy Lee wannabe, especially when she has the potential to be more than th at, but her inspiration is way too obvious. Even the song titles sound like they were ripped off from someone else, and the lyrics feel like absolutely generic lists of clichés. This album has everything I’ve come to expect in an Evanescence rip-off: repetitive, barely a single original idea, songs that may sound like Evanescence songs but are nowhere near as solid, and lyrics so cliché they don’t seem sincere at all, which is the worst way to make an Evanescence-style song.
So, is this album a bad way to do a Fallen type of record in general? Yes and no. It has obvious flaws, and that’s why I cannot call it a great album, certainly not an album on Fallen’s level, but I still found myself enjoying a few songs. Like I said, Eowyn has the voice, and at least some of the songwriting skills to make a good album. She’s a fairly talented performer, though not a great one. So all things considered, it could have been worse.
