What is it supposed to be?

Elegy offer a typically perplexing package: computer generated labrynths, floating ethereal spheres, lightning bolts
and 'H G Wells' inspired mauve sunsets, elements which imply that the music contained within is of a futuristic bent. Song titles further exacerbate confusion: offerings that would sit comfortably on a Dio or King Diamond disc alongside science fiction.

Reputation precedes each Elegy release, and the fact that this disc is the first (correct me if I'm wrong) to feature
vocalist Ian Parry and would prove to be the last featuring original guitarist and principal composer Henk Van de Laars, provided the band with an opportunity to re-package or re-invent themselves, which they elected to forgo.

What it is:

I want to write that Elegy combine superb songwriting with stellar vocals, balance technical virtuosity with lyrical finesse, and that they are the embodiment of the term 'progressive.' I want to. I REALLY want to, but I can't.

Why, why, why do bands that have such obvious ability musically and compositionally fail to recognize that banal, innane lyrics, delivered in a histrionic manner will cause even the most sublime music to flounder, flaccid and mired in a pseudo-emotive morass.

The septic starts to seep as soon as Parry opens his mouth, and regardless of the power and range of his voice (I mean it-he really has a great rock tone), the lyrics, banshee cadencing and overwrought tremolo at the end of every vocal phrase (there are other syllables in the vernacular than aaaayyyyyaaaaaayyyyyy-ah, wait-no, there would be if the lyrics weren't so poorly coupled) rob each song of the majesty the music provides.

Van de Laars utilizes space, rhythmic displacement, and inverted voicings to craft an imposing framework for the skilled Bruinenberg to ply his percussive trade under.

NOTE TO BANDS: Phil Spector invented the "Wall of Sound", Coltrane perpetrated his "Sheets of Sound", and look where it got them. The heaviest music isn't always engaged in lockstep. Dynamics create agression. Keys and bass are subtle yet contribute greatly to the overall unity of the musical vision through excellent arranging, reinforcement,
counterpoint and restraint. Production is clear and fairly transparent, allowing the sound of each instrument its own space.

NOTE TO BANDS: 'Tone' isn't the same thing as 'sound'. Chainsaws are loud too, but who wants to listen to them doubletracked?

While we're asking questions, would someone please explain to me who Elegy are targeting with their music? I assume that they are not independently wealthy, and that they, like most bands, are trying to make a living (if not a killing) at their chosen trade. I don't care what you tell me-no one doing this type of music is doing it for purely artistic reasons, so who are you marketing yourselves to?

To whom do you 'believe' that your lyrics are meaningful? "Shadow Dancer"? "Destiny Calling"? Prescient, socially omniscient missives such as these must surely rankle the likes of Bernie Taupin and cause Anne Rice to reach for her attornies cell number.

Overall, the music succeeds. Van de Laars and company excel in providing unique variations on the post-Trilogy-era Malmsteen pseudo-classical metal and add sorely-lacking color to the genre, interspersing odd-time signatures, interesting chordal twists and turns, and mature use of dynamics amongst the prototypical diminished scales and harmonic minor modal progressions.
Vocally, while Parry soars, he also bores.

Rating: 3+/5 (the plus is for not abusing the phrygian dominant mode excessively, and for reminding me why I started listening to klezmer in the early 80's)

Released by Noise Records: http://www.noiserecords.com/

Review by Jan-Mikael