Search - Sellisternium :: Fury

Polish gothic metal

Justin Gaines | Northern Virginia | 02/20/2010

(3 out of 5 stars)

"2008's Fury is the debut album from Sellistenium, a Polish gothic metal band signed to Renaissance Records. Sellisternium follows in the footsteps of the genre's better known bands (Nightwish, Edenbridge, After Forever) without sounding exactly like any of them.

Vocalist Anna Pietrzak doesn't do the operatic thing, nor is Fury one of those "beauty and the beast" albums with a male vocalist using a harsh death metal style. Fury isn't overly symphonic either. It's a more straightforward gothic metal album with metal guitar riffs, plenty of keyboards and that whole dark love song vibe. You can tell they listened to a bunch of Sisters of Mercy and Paradise Lost albums at some point. Pietrzak's vocal performance is impressive, as is the musicianship. Oh, and the production job is decent, which puts Fury a step ahead of fellow Renaissance act Tular's The Truth Behind the Mask album.

Of course, as good as Fury is, it's also nothing you haven't heard before if you own at least one After Forever CD. Sellisternium has a good sound, but it's far from original, and when the field is so crowded with established bands, it seems like a newcomer should do a bit more to stand out.

Unless you're seriously into these female-fronted metal bands, you can probably skip this album. If that's your thing though, Fury should prove to be a worthy addition to your collection."