Review Summary: Fallenmania, Part 25
Fallenmania never dies, it just becomes less successful or takes different forms. This is why today, we have a power/symphonic metal band formed by members of Eluveitie, who released their first album in 2020. Yes, really.
Way more than its obvious inspiration, Evanescence and Within Temptation, this album sounds like the soundtrack to an epic fantasy movie. It’s a well-made, clean-sounding album, that hits all the right notes, musically and emotionally, and feels somewhat comforting because of its similarity to other albums you’ve heard. For example, the 2 first full tracks after an instrumental intro, “The Call of Winds” and “Tales of Time”, are pretty good symphonic metal songs, with similar heavy, distorted and somewhat frantic riffs, crystal-clear singing and a catchy chorus. “The Farewell Arcades”, yet another instrumental, has a nice violin intro, and a heavy riff similar to the previous one, kind of a Going Under riff but not completely, contrasted with a sweet bell sound in the background. That at least is a creative idea, even though the album can get a little repetitive.
That’s why you’ll welcome the most obviously fallenmaniac track, “Crystal Silence”, with its really heavy, enraged Going Under riff contrasted with synths and Fabienne Erni’s, again, crystal-clear singing. She can sing with power, or with emotion on ballads like “What Have I Become”, her voice has a technically flawless delivery and very pretty sound, which reminds me a lot of the kind of singers hired to sing the songs on movie soundtracks. Her voice is an highlight of the album without being extraordinary, whereas the music behind her can be at best entertaining because it reminds me of artists I like, at worst kind of bland.
Or even worse, it can have some wasted potential. “Rise” begins with sort of celtic fiddles, you think it’s going to be some kind of Fallenmania-meets-Eluveitie song, but it’s just a bland, sort of symphonic ballad with uninteresting Going Under riffs.
At least, “Muse of Unknown Forces” fulfills its potential, with its explosive riff and vaguely fallenmaniac, but very symphonic tone. “Golden Land” is a pretty ballad with a nice guitar solo and great use of Fabienne’s voice. “Beyond the Obsidian Veil” has some nice riffs and violins even though it’s just another interlude. “World’s End” may over-use Going Under riff like many other songs on the album, but it has an interesting sinister tone, especially with Fabienne’s lower-pitched vocals. This, and “Glowing Tides”, with its haunting vocals and sound effects, make a decent conclusion to an album that’s not great, but better than expected.
To be completely honest, I’m not sure what to think of this album. It uses the same riffs too many times, and has too many instrumental interludes that don’t really add anything. It kind of feels like a shameless imitation of all the fallenmaniac and symphonic metal bands that came before, proving once again that this whole scene is full of copies of copies and only keeps going in circles. But I couldn’t bring myself to hate this. It sounds nice and reminds me of stuff I like, and sometimes that’s all I need. At this point in the series, I’m feeling more generous towards fallenmaniacs, maybe because I’ve become so numb from all the devastatingly mediocre albums I’ve already reviewed. More seriously, I think the Fallenamania scene, whatever’s left of it, is in serious need of new inspiration. The fact that this album sounds so good, and got a follow-up as recently as 2024, or simply that we got a fallenmaniac project so recently, by well-known musicians from a completely different scene, proves that Illumishade might be that breath of fresh air, along with whatever Evanescence has planned for 2025. But Illumishade is an artist to watch out for, not my new idols.
