Hierophant Nox

ALBUM REVIEW

Elis - Catharsis
Napalm Records

Another week, another melodramatic, female-fronted Gothic metal effort, or so it seems from where I’m seated, which is at the bottom of a very pile of very similar promos. Fortunately, Lichtenstein’s Elis could certainly be described as the pick of the bunch, and “Catharsis”, their fourth full-length and first with Sandra Schleret fronting, is eminently listenable, polished to within an inch of its life but not plagued by the unbearably over-cooked histrionics of some of the band’s peers. Sandra, like her predecessor Sabine Dunser, who tragically died in 2006, easily side-steps the shrieking, breathy stereotype, and holds her own against the inevitable counterpoint of growler Tom with no small degree of class.

What most frequently bothers me about Gothic metal is the subordination of the riff-work, which is too often left as an unimaginative, chugging onslaught of predictable power chords, with all the imagination and creativity channelled into the vocals. If music is to earn the badge of ‘metal’, this should not be the case. Although opener “Core of Live” doesn’t set fretboards alight, Elis prove themselves to be far more imaginative than the norm, with a racing solo adorning “Twinkling Shadow”, sledgehammer heaviness on the haunting “Morning Star” and a wealth of power and energy on “Mother’s Fire”. Best of all is the introduction to the catchy “I Come Undone”, with its mean, bassy flange and fabulous, 80s-tastic lead. Even though the rest of the song doesn’t quite do its opening justice, it’s a great example of the refreshing inventiveness of Elis’s guitarists.

Sandra and Tom’s interaction obviously takes centre-stage, of course, and they’re both confidently up to the task, with Tom being given some dramatic lyrics to deliver on tracks such as “Warrior’s Tale”, which he performs with impressive savagery. While Sandra’s lines often require the pained, discordant patterns common to the genre, she is also gifted with some very enjoyable melodies, such as on “Morning Star”, and really gets to let rip with powerful ballad “Rainbow”. Having dual vocalists of equal talent allows for better integration between the soft and the hard, and also creates a fair amount of variation, as does the easy switch between English and German. The album itself is well structured, not wallowing in emotion for too long at any one point, but instead driving action forward with pacier tracks, and finding an excellent conclusion in “The Dark Bridge”, which has some of the best leads on the release.

“Catharsis” is one of the strongest Gothic metal releases of the year, but it wins despite, not because of, its genre. From the outside it seems like this brand of metal must suffocate itself soon, but I suppose that’s how the mountain of primitive black metal looks to my poor Gothic counterpart, perched at the base of her own promo mountain of despair. While the market remains strong, Elis must be crowned amongst the victors along with Trail of Tears, proving that Napalm has the very best taste in this area. They’re incredibly professional and have an admirable intensity of vision, and privilege metal over melodrama to fine effect.