A Return To Finland Part I

Return to Finland Part I
Apocalyptica & Silentium -From Violins to Cellos

  My previous post (Music from the Others III - Violins) I had picked 3 songs which focus on violins and its easy to say the majority of songs in my listings have violins, being a mainstay of Symphonic, Melodic Death, Gothic, Power and Folk Metal. This posting I am focusing on the much less used Cello. Being darker sounding, more brooding, and a very emotional instrument it lends itself to Metal fairly well. It certainly isn't used much, it just so happens that 2 bands from Finland do use them to great success.
  As a return to Finland, knowing quite well enough that Apocalyptica (that band that does Metallica on only Cellos) is 4 crazy guys on Cellos and add in that the Gothic Doom Metal Band Silentium (who had recently switched from Violins to Cellos), I decided it would be a great pairing to get my Return To Finland off to a great start. 
  I am constantly going back through my bookmarks in hopes to stumble onto something great. As I write this, I had just completed a search through links of Within Temptation, Sirenia and Tristania to get an idea of the pulse of symphonic metal back in 1998-2002. Though my search gave me no hidden gems to add to my collection, It did remind myself of one of my first favorited track from Apocalyptica. It's a nearly hidden track on a release that featured multiple guest vocalists. Though they are mostly known for all-cello acapella versions of classic Metallica tracks, its their instrumentals that truly stand out, focusing on very emotional, nearly lyrical melodies infused over throbbing and distorted rhythms.
  Another early bookmark for me is Silentium and they are one of my favorite discoveries through this Endless Search. Also from Finland, they have had members and singers change just like many bands from these sub-genres of metal. One of their changes was to keep backup vocalist Riina Rinkinen as their full-time vocalist and switching background violins to cello. Their earlier music at times was experimental, nearly soundtrack-like doom metal. The band evolved, made less use of Male vocal Matti Aikio to allow focus to fall on the exceptional talent of Riina. I have already put one of my favorite songs Dead Silent in previous post (See Posting: Pretty Voices FFM). Here I focus on 2 more songs from the same disc in which Riina is the main singer.


Apocalyptica - Grace (Finland symphonic folk metal 2007)
  This song is called Grace, though it could've had a better name considering the powerful sections and haunting melody which alternate between a heavily saturated thrashing riff and an interesting quiet building section. Apocalyptica could be the most famous band in my listings here, and I would expect most people to have this albulm and possibly the major hit Mandylion by The Gathering (See Previous Posting: Music from the Others II) but because it was on a disc where there were alot of guest singers, I feel there is a chance it was overlooked by perhaps the portion of fans who got the cd because their favorite singer made a guest appearance on 1 song.
  This song shows the exact reason why I think a band like Apocalyptica is so important. They had huge exposure doing just Metallica covers with no lyrics and no drummer, then they took a risk by doing the opposite, adding drums and getting guest vocalists to sing on original material. In doing so, they were able to reach farther in a creative direction and put together some outstanding gems, this being the earliest in their collection where this uniqueness and the obviously inherent talent in these Finnish Cello players shows through - but on an instrumental.
  My suggestion for re-naming this song is "Returning from Victory". Its that epic.


Silentium - Frostnight (Finland Gothic Metal 2005)
   Silentium is such a unique find for me. Its always the most unknown ones I latch onto. This band and 2 other Finnish imports (Stam1na and Velcra) seemingly are the 3 most unknown bands that I have on this list and they potentially are among the very most talented. I was listening to Silentium's earlier work before they added the vocalist Riina. I couldn't put my finger on it but I felt something was missing, the songs felt they had little direction and the vocals were either way too emphasized or lacking in the more melodic sections. They had a violinist before and though it had great moments, it would get lost in the muddy doom metal guitars. I had found this song from the disc Seducia, bookmarked it since it sounded pretty good, then came back to it a little later and realized its perfection.
    Frostnight is wholly an unique piece. Superbly written, multi-textural, multi-dimensional, and a pleasure for the ears. I hadn't discovered this until one day it popped up on my playlist and I had the volume up. I heard the Cello, the Piano, the Melody and the perfectly balanced tiny details. And Her voice... its really impressive.
I urge you to turn this up, and listen through as I break this one down...
    Intro before drums - you get at least 3 hooks, between the piano and guitar and cello. Then the drums add in as the section repeats with full instrumentation. It quietly breaks down for what is a preview of the actual breakdown later in the song, with her vocal soaring overhead. The beat is powerful and in contrast to the 3 hook section- which actually is the chorus. The first verse falls in and her voice seems nearly by itself, but there is so much going on in the background, its  a pleasure to actually listen closely for the nuances. The guitars come in and her vocal shows more control, there is piano and cello adding in. Then the chorus comes in full force. Later during the heavy breakdown, she sings yet another melody on top. Its quite amazing. You don't realize till much later how important that last hook is, until you hear it played alone as the ending to a great little-known song.


Silentium - Unbroken (Finland Gothic Metal 2005)
   I would highly recommend you to check the links below I've included also for other things of note from this band.
   This entry above is from an EP release of the first video "Dead Silent" and its a re-master of the original, piano-cello only ballad on the disc Seducia. Both versions are wonderful but I included this version just on the fact its even more unknown than the ballad. Plus the heavier sections add a contrast which I tend to like in these more softer songs. Her performance on this song is beautiful, haunting, and touching, it feels like if she's in the same room- the emotion is so palatable. Match in the cellos and the piano with the swelling instrumentation makes this quite a spectacular piece. I wrote in a previous posting that I cannot compare her vocal to anyone - just out of respect - but it's more that simply no one sounds like her. They did do an outstanding and haunting version of Alanise Morisettes' Uninvited and she very much matches Alanis's tone but Riina is quite alone in a world of copy-cat sounding artists. That alone, is worth something, but luckily there is so much more here. I hope you like them. This is not the last song I will feature in my listings... there is still more to come... they turn into a Symphonic Metal band with their 2009 release Amortean.

Unbroken (original version)
Uninvited (cover)
Painless (older song with violins and without Riina)
Silentium on Last.fm
Silentivm.com (website)


Next Post: A Return To Finland Part II ... The Future of MetalRi

Music From The Others III - Violins

Music From The Others III - Play the Violins
"Look at all these bands playing violins,... where do they come from?"

  My section of "The Others" is only a referral to the fact as I was falling in love with Symphonic Metal, I was stumbling onto a great amount of Other Stuff which I kept bookmarking. Being a sub-genre, Symphonic Metal gets lumped together with Other Subs like Progressive Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Power Metal and Gothic Metal. So cross-references exist and some bands simply don't always lean so specifically towards one or the other making things a bit more difficult to describe. Often you hear "They are like Evanescence but in a Swedish Death Metal way- but with violins".
  One of my pet peeves of these genres is the overall lame conception of "just add a violin to make it cool", which also ranks up there for me with "get some hot girl to sing and dress her up like a vampire". In trying to understand where all this comes from, I decided to look into the past of Rock-n-Roll and Metal for the origins or evolution of the relationship between Heavy Metal and Violins.
  (This is by no means a definitive list), so lets start with The Beatles who definitely used violins in much of their early work, as they were such an experimental band for the times they were in. It is quite interesting to see how they progressed from using the violins as part of the melody (Eleanor Rigby) to later, used in a more symphonic means, in sections or passages that stand alone for effect (A Day in the Life).
 There were an enormous amount of bands in the early days of rock that used violins, but their inclusion was mostly for the more mellow ballads. Some bands like The Moody Blues, Emerson Lake and Palmer and a Frank Zappa song here and there (50/50) feature jams that include a violinist, mostly for solos but I feel its the influence of the Legendary guitarist Jimmy Page, who would use a bow across the strings of a Les Paul to get a violin-feel during his live solos- which directly led to the showmanship of ELO. Thus the image of a rock band with a violinist onstage had become well accepted. By this time you have bands like Kansas and Jethro Tull (early symphonic-folk rock!) who regularly included violins.
  Once metal took over though, in the 80s, a band with violinist would not be prominent again but that didn't stop some of the biggest bands of the times to make mega-hits with violins like Metallica (Nothing Else Matters), Guns-n-Roses (November Rain) and Smashing Pumpkins (Tonight). More recently, there has been a resurgence of violinist being included in bands of just about any genre from Yellowcard and Dave Matthews but I would like to point to Faith No More's biggest song (Epic). It might have been violin-via-keyboard but it is so reminiscent of Led Zep's Kashmir, and the mix of heavy metal with violins was indeed epic.
  This leads me to this decade, in which there are a plethora of Progressive, Symphonic, Gothic, Melodic Death, Power Metal and Folk Metal bands all using violins. Obviously, most of the songs in my listings here do include violins but I have chosen three of my favorite examples of what good song writing and the use of the violin can produce without it sounding like "let's add some violin to make it cool"

Stream Of Passion: Progressive Metal. Netherlands and others. This band is yet another project by the busiest guy in all Euro-Metal, Arjen Anthony Lucassen (Ayreon).  Stream of Passion features 2 super gifted women in the vocals and violins of Marcela Bovio, and guitarist Lori Lindstruth. They play a progressive style of Metal which shows influences of Jazz, Zeppelin and even Latin, and their musical skill is extraordinary.
Kamelot: Power Metal, Tampa FL USA. A band from the USA? Really? Yes, and they feature prominently the multi-textural vocals of Roy Kahn (NL). His range is top notch, singing with all the power and diversity of Bruce Dickerson (Iron Maiden) mixed in with a little darker tone. Their 8th release Ghost Opera shows the band can be diverse while still maintaining their PowerMetal core. Though they don't have an actual violinist, the orchestration on Ghost Opera helps them straddle the Symphonic / Power Metal fence.


Stream of Passion - Passion 2005
    Also Live Video Here
    If you wondered just what is progressive metal? This could be a very definitive answer. It doesn't hurt to have a phenom on vocals deliver a perfectly sensual and inspired performance like Marcela Bovio does on this song- which could be considered the band's self-titled anthem tour-DE-force. The intro places the violin on full display, as its' melody is a non-stop run, slipping through key changes. The heavy guitar riff underneath is matched with keys as the drum work pushes the energy through the roof. Right off you know this song is powerful and you wonder what is in store. This is what I love about bands with a progressive mentality, they hint to all their influences, they bounce between styles and mix it up while building upon each section. Passion is an understatement... when you get to the ferocious solo by Lori Lindstruth, the song is simply about to kick into high gear for the final round. I included a live video just to show the band's amazing talent and perfect vocals (harmonies by Marcia's sister, Diana). Also note the live version includes extended "Kashmir" like build ups not found in the video edit.


Stream of Passion - Embrace the Storm 2005
    The title song is a magical force of 2 different melodies in one song, the main lead with the violin is a mode-changing feast which you instantly can grab onto and go with for a ride. In contrast, the verses consist of 2 piano melodies, one descending and one ascending, along with a near impossible vocal as only can be performed by Marcela Bovio. The song is earmarked by an overall feeling that is all Arjen Lucassen's influence. The exit shows how beautiful the melody is even as it drops a key or two to the end round. Overall the song is quite amazing, the melody is brilliant and the song is quite a standout and a very memorable moment.


Kamelot - Ghost Opera 2007
  From their highly acclaimed Ghost Opera, here Kamelot takes on Operatic themes and still sound like a Power Metal unit throughout this visually outstanding video. Featuring background vocals of Amanda Somerville and a feverish attacking violin melody. The whole thing comes together in a massive way then the solo comes through and you feel the energy provided by the rising and falling orchestral sections, the high speed drums and choirs. The huge voice that Roy Kahn has is also on display. This gallant effort simply needs more recognition. Glad to see a band from the USA hit one out of the ballpark.

Next Update: From Violins to Cellos, a Return To Finland

Music From The Others II

Music From The Others - Doom Crossovers

One of the interesting facts Ive found out about Symphonic Metal is that a lot of the bands in the genre change from one genre to another. For instance one of the first metal bands to actually incorporate a full symphony with choirs and play classically inspired music is Therion, but they didn't start out that way. In fact they originated more as Death Metal band and slipped into an Experimental Doom style and then Gothic Metal form. I am sharing my first bookmarks I kept from them, it's from one of their highest acclaimed release "Lemuria" (2004)
   The Gathering is another band labeled as Gothic Metal and even SM despite the fact that they were simply an alt-rock styled atmospheric band with some mildly orchestrated parts, but because they began as an all-Doom early Thrash band (see Always 1992) they kept that cred. My opinion of The Gathering was 100% chick metal. Their stuff never grabbed me, I was simply into way more heavier sounds. But here, after all this time, I have a great appreciation for a few songs here and there. I love the songs so much that it's easy for me to see how they have a ginormous following world wide of absolutely hysterically fanatical fans who adore their prize possession - singer Anneke Van Giersbergen. Even as their styles changed, their fans continued to grow. Now Anneke has departed and in comes Silje Wergeland from Octavia Sperati (Doom Metal NL see previous posts: The First Batch, and Music from the Others P1) and yet another era for TG has begun. I figure I should start linking TG songs with my first (as it was with so many people) from 1995's landmark release "Mandylion", the song is called Strange Machines, and is about being in control of a time machine.
 Aesma Daeva is a project from Spain. Their music is very atmospheric and angelic at the same time. Some of it harkens The Gathering, with the vocals of  hanging overhead. Artmis is the first song I bookmarked from them, and it has some magical moments, it seems to fit here in this group as they are one of those bands that are in-between genres, in this case atmospheric and Gothic Metal.



The Gathering - Strange Machines (1995, Netherlands Alt/Metal)
From one of the most influential and highly acclaimed and loved releases from The Gathering, this song is quite possibly the one song which has introduced the most people to one band. A simple and infectious groove resembles much darker bands and days in fact. But the very obvious standout here is the angelic floating voice of superstar Anneke Van Giersbergen. Her seamless vocals feel as effortless as any and her impossible clarity and masterful range is on complete display here making Strange Machines a penultimate classic. For me to include this song, and this band in a blog about mostly Female-Fronted Metal is such an obvious choice I can only excuse its inclusion by simple fact I would have never gave this song a true chance if not for the fact that I found out the singer Silje (Octavia Sperati) was replacing Anneke. So I was an outsider and this song made me look deeper into their varied discography. I feel this song will continue to recruit others into fans, well into the future as this song sounds fresh today in 2010 as I could only imagine it did in 1995. 


Therion - Utharka Runa 2004 Sweden Symphonic Metal/Progressive/Gothic 
The intro is a sampling of epic Power Metal in a near to Classic True Metal style, and it gives way to the first full-choir round with the feel of a Gothic Symphony. Therion is a group of rotating members, each changing up the style of each release. But what makes them so special is the high level of musicianship and it rings true very quickly here. The slow heavy grinding rhythm is pounded out with harmonized dueling guitars. An operatic middle section paves the way for a real metal breakdown that simply must be heard. Symphony X, Nightwish, Judas Priest all are channeled in to build up the breakneck Speed Metal ending. Special indeed.



Aesma Daeva - Artemis - Gothic Doom Metal, atmospheric
 From the start, a spooky melody overlays harmonized guitars in a slow doom-like mood. This is more what I could consider as Gothic Metal than the norm of hybrids HIM/Type-O Negative styled bands. The soft vocal is delicately delivered but still cuts through even the heavy passages. This is very powerful and the space provided is a nice departure from overtly aggressive songs. But dont let that keep you from listening to it loud. The song is much more impressive with the levels up where you get to feel full range of sound all the way to last unresolved hanging note.

Next update: More Violins