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August 29, 2008 |
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01. Perfect Tonight
02. Love, Lust, Desire
03. Fire Within
04. Stranger In You
05. Heart Shaped Scars
06. Soul In Half
07. Killing Time
08. I Want You
09. King Of Pain
10. Zero
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Hailing from Helsinki, Finland, LULLACRY was founded in 1998. Their new album, entitled "Volume 4", was recorded by Anssi Kippo (CHILDREN OF BODOM, ENTWINE, NORTHER) and mixed at the famous Finnvox Studio by Mikko Karmila (NIGHTWISH, SONATA ARCTICA). While most of today's female-fronted Metal bands from Europe are likely to try to take advantage of the relative success encountered by Gothic/Symphonic formations such as NIGHTWISH, AFTER FOREVER, WITHIN TEMPTATION or LACUNA COIL by following the same trend, LULLACRY instead made the choice to go for a different approach by adopting a classic Heavy Melodic Rock almost free of keyboards. Therefore, by choosing a different path, LULLACRY have found a way to at least attract people's attention.
On "Vol. 4", there really is no surprise here as the beginning of the opening track, "Perfect Tonight", kicks in. The catchy Rock 'n' Roll ambiance of this song is very reminiscent of classic acts such as GIRLSCHOOL or ROCK GODDESS. However, when track two, "Love, Lust, Desire", gets underway, the band seem to be drifting further away from the Metal genre in order to explore some newer horizons towards the radio-friendly Alternative Rock genre, growing closer to a band like GARBAGE. Despite its fast tempo, "Fire Within" (which originally surfaced on the band's EP of the same name last year) undoubtedly confirms this impression. The first single taken from the album, "Stranger In You", is the one most likely to help LULLACRY reach the level of popularity they are obviously striving for. I could easily see this song hitting the Billboard's list in the Modern Rock Charts category; it is as good as (if not better than) anything programmed today on MTV.
"Heart Shaped Scars", with its slow/mid tempo is closer to ballad material, and even though it's not that bad, it sounds too much like it's already been done before a million times over. So much for the originality.
Despite not really going away from the airplay-friendly melodies of the previous tracks, "Soul In Half" is so far the most original song on the album. The band seem to switch gears here to a more Gothic approach, and it keeps getting heavier with "Killing Time". Even though this track have a more Metal vibe, it unfortunately seems to be too little to late for lots of people who have followed LULLACRY's career since the beginning. I am not surprised that this trend stays with the next track, "I Want You", which is likely to become the next single taken out of the selection. It's too catchy and almost cheesy, and once again makes a strong impression of deją vu. Fortunately, "King Of Pain", proves to be the heaviest track so far, therefore improving my opinion of this release (no need to mention that we finally can come to appreciate some very aggressive vocals from Tanja. This song simply rocks! I am just wondering why they didn't deliver a few more of these on this album.
The last track, "Zero", has some killer riffs, but doesn't reach the level of intensity displayed on the previous track.
Overall, this album is quite enjoyable. However, would I go out of my way to listen to the whole thing on a regular basis? With the exception of a couple of songs (at the most), I don't see that happening that often. LULLACRY are taking a huge risk of disappointing their fan-base in order to take a more commercial turn. On the other hand, despite all their efforts to appeal the masses, to me, their music is still likely to be considered as being too heavy for the mainstream.
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