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October 8, 2008 |
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01. Another Return
02. Lament
03. Unpayable Silence
04. Haunted
05. Desolation
06. Enlightenment
07. Tårefall
08. Infinite Fairytale
09. På Leting
10. Dancing With The Midnight Sun
11. Tapt Av Håp
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Okay, I admit it...I have a pretty big crush on Carmen Elise Espanaes, lead vocalist for the German / Norwegian quintent MIDNATTSOL. How could you not? I mean, she has the voice of an angel, and obviously it really doesn't hurt that she's incredibly good looking. On MIDNATTSOL's debut album, "Where Twilight Dwells", Carmen is the star of the show as the songs are well crafted to highlight her hauntingly beautiful voice. I would love to hear her do a duet with her sister Liv Kristine (of LEAVES' EYES).
MIDNATTSOL isn't your typical female-fronted gothic rock band like we're hearing so much of these days. Instead, what you're in store for is more of a 'Norwegian Folk Metal' sound that concentrates more on vibe and atmosphere than looking for a hit song. From first look at the cover, which features Carmen as a 'ghostly' appearance, you get the feeling that emotions and atmosphere are important to the band. The production on "Where Twilight Dwells" is fairly good, though the drums are mixed a little too loud, and the guitars a little too low. But that's really a small issue as the main reason to buy this disc is for Carmen's voice. Christian Hector (guitar), Daniel Droste (guitar), Birgit Öllbrunner (bass), Daniel Fischer (keyboards), and Chris Merzinsky (drums) are all solid players and it's because of their almost understated performances that Carmen can become the focal point.
The album starts off with "Another Return", a bombastic piece that sets a good tone for the remainder of the disc, though this is one of the songs where Merzinsky's drumming is a little too in-your-face - a little too much in the forefront. "Lament" is similar to "Another Return" as far as the sound goes, with the heavily distorted guitars mixed way in the back. "Unpayable Silence" is a very gentle, emotional ballad that builds into a very powerful tune. It's definitely one of the album's highlights. "Haunted" builds the pace up again until "Desolation" - a mid-tempo rocker brings it back a bit. There are some really nice emotional turns where the band slow things down, then pick up the pace right away, never really giving the listener the opportunity to become accustomed to one direction. "Enlightenment" is mixed really well, with the drumming not so overpowering. "Tårefall" is a pure folky track while the pace picks up again in "Infinite Fairytale".
The album ends on a bit of a down note for me with "På Leting" and "Tapt Ao Håp" - the latter having an acoustic guitar intro that is far too long and makes the song a little tiring.
"Where Twilight Dwells" is an album that definitely stands out from the over-populated goth metal crowd. There is too much variety going on here to pigeon hole MIDNATTSOL into one specific genre, though 'folk metal' does seem to cover it the best. The band kind of reminds me a little of FINNTROLL.
Fans of the recent female-fronted bands have another reason to rejoice with this act, though I don't think the band's appeal is limited to that fan-base only. There is a lot of talent and enough solid musicianship here to take the band past the masses and into a leading role. "Where Twilight Dwells" is a very impressive debut, and if MIDNATTSOL can continue to write and perform at this level, it won't be long until they are mentioned in the same breath as LACUNA COIL, LEAVES' EYES and THEATER OF TRAGEDY. This is definitely worth checking out.
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