Review Summary: Fallenmania, Part 36
The long-awaited crossover between Fallenmania and my nu metal reviews is finally here. All things considered, “Fallen” barely counts as nu metal, and there are not that many Fallen-inspired albums that really lean on its nu metal side. But today’s band MyPollux does that, and pretty well.
It does a good job with having a personality of its own, while h aving all the things we enjoy about nu metal and fallemania. After “Ego”, a short intro with some mysterious vocalizing, we get the first proper track “Chrysalide”, with its heavy, distorted nu metal riffs and Lussi’s melancholic, deep voice, and some raspy screaming at the end.
That song is the spirit of the album in a nutshell, but there are many variations of that formula. For example, “Jeu” is another heavy track, with slightly creepy music box sounds, and more energetic, raspy singing. “Paraffine” is a great example of a heavier track, with its dark, threatening riffs that sound like much meaner versions of Going Under, while Lussi sings in her lower, darker register, with barely contained rage. “Coffre * Souhaits” has an instrumentation that goes from soft to heavy and dark while the vocals go from dark, angsty singing to raspy growls, performed by Joe Duplantier from Gojira.
Some tracks are closer to “Fallen”, and while they might seem softer at first glance, they still have an eerie feel. “Qui Dort Dîne” has a softer but still dark sound, with Lussi’s low-pitched, sad Amy Lee-esque singing, while the lyrics use a French proverb to discuss eating disorders and self-image issues. “Ubiquité” uses similar dark and repetitive riffs that I can’t really call Going Under riffs, with tormented singing that uses a distinctively fallenmaniac intonation. “Lettres * ma Bulle” uses similar riffs and vocal lines, and this is where the album gets a little repetitive. But while this song sounds too much like the ones before, it at least has an interesting riff and a really dark atmosphere. Yes, this band has a recognizable sound, and they do a lot of good things with it, but they tend to run out of ideas and rely on the same melodies.
Which is why the last part of the album is so interesting, because it finally brings new ideas. “Contrego” develops the ideas of “Ego”, with is gloomy piano and eerie, low singing. It’s a nice transition into “Par Défaut”, with its Going Under, nu metal riff and low singing suddenly turning into a loud scream. If MyPollux has a signature song, it’s this one, and you can understand why because it really stands out from the others, especially with the more energetic singing used on the second verse.
Then the other songs are somewhat repetitive too, but with some nice riffs and dark singing, especially on “Notre Nouveau Monde”. “L’Or et le Coton” also has some powerful singing, and some of the album’s angriest riffs, with lyrics about child abuse. It’s the closest we’ll ever get to a French version of “Daddy”, but we don’t have a French version of “Shoots and Ladders”, which is a shame because French nursery rhymes are just as creepy. Finally, “Mon Lit * Baldaquin” combines all the album’s ideas, the Going Under riffs, raspy and low singing, dark references to childish things and eerie moods.
The album’s repetitiveness is its only real flaw. Other than that, it does a good job with the dark, tense mood, which is the mark of all good nu metal, and with the low, quiet-to-loud singing and gloomy piano of Fallenmania, which is what I want from those subgenres. It’s similar enough to “Fallen” to be a hit, and yet it has enough personality to be great on its own terms. Really, this band had so much potential, and yet they more or less disappeared after this album, making other albums that don’t seem to get the same attention as “Contraires”. They could never really establish themselves on the local scene, unlike their obvious peers ETHS and Kells, they only ended up being a one-album wonder Fallenmaniac band that time forgot. I’d say they deserved better than that, but then many would say that Evanescence is also a one-album wonder with “Fallen”, who probably deserve better as well.
The funny thing is that just like “Fallen”, “Contraires” is both nu metal and gothic metal, and yet not really, if it has any genre, it’s Fallenmania. The goal of this series is to show how “Fallen”, and really Evanescence in general, had a bigger influence on pop culture than anyone would expect. Even if you don’t like “Fallen” or the acts it inspired, you’ll understand that there’s a distinctive fallenmaniac sound, and you’ll gain some respect for it, even admit that some of those artists deserved better. Of course, some have done better than expected, but that’s for another day.
