Well Elfika is one of the bands I will discover at the 7th edition of the Kraken Metal Rock Fest; so I had to review this album. This French female fronted symphonic metal project got me hooked to their sound, so we finished the review with pleasure!
First track sounds pretty mysterious and is called The Chamber of Secrets. I hear a piano, a scary tinge ling sound … slowly it gets into a bombastic feel with the symphonic sound jumping in and giving it a boost. When the guitars and the choir (or pumped up vocals) enter the game we get the real symphonic metal feel! The vocals remind me a bit of Silver (in the metal version). The song goes up and down and has many emotional outbursts. Wagner would have loved to conduct this song on stage! Before I noticed So Human started, meaning that the intro went in a fluid over into the next one. Angel sounds heavier, more pumped up with more powered up vocals. It all goes towards a climax: almost giving you feathers. I just hope it’s not the flight of Icarus. But luckily the songs slows down before we can crash. Time after time it gets to a high and slows down: almost like waves taking us up and down. It also feels like heaven for a headbangers ball! The Other starts with a piano, slowly building up the tension and adding more and more instruments but keeping low profile after all. Laure Ali-Khodja can prove that she has a great voice and goes from softly to heart breaking and sound barrier breaking hard. It’s a very emotional track and very much into the basics of a symphonic metal track. After 5 minutes the first guitar jumps in and the tempo goes up, giving it the real feel of a metal track. Broken Wings is not the well-known ballad, but a powered-up track with a real symphonic metal reel. The real opus and mind-blowing piece comes with Dark Virgin (cut in 4 parts). First part is The Prayer (Ave Maria): the biblical story. I think I even hear some male whispering in it as for the rest it’s a very typical symphonic metal track with the outbursts, the choir, the typical instruments (even some electronics) and lots of pathos. This one really drags you into their own world! From Heaven to Hell takes us deeper and deeper into it whilst Revenge gives us a dark and sharp version of themselves. Redemption has something very catchy and sounds like a big hit! I really feel that they can become big if they manage to launch this track in a proper way! Looking forward to hear it on stage for sure!
In total exclusivity and via FFMoE (Female Fronted Metal of Europe) we get 3 extra track for the Benelux limited edition:
Starlight is a powered and speeded up symphonic metal track with a very positive vibe. One thing is for sure: they have to perform this one on stage as it will give the people a smile on their face and make them happier! One Day is a nice one but sounds a bit too much like a regular track and has nothing special. The French piano ballad Enfant de la Lune is a cool one where you can hear her sing in her mother language and it really sounds great. It’s a tear jerking and heart breaking track! Beautiful and sensitive!
I can only conclude that I can’t wait to see them on stage at the Kraken fest as I loved the album! The live feel will confirm or break my good feelings about them! Let’s hope for the best!
Here's the Smart URL : http://hyperurl.co/Elfika
More info about the festival:
