Search - Sirenia :: Sixes & Sevens

TRISTANIA CLONE WITH A BITE!

Mr D. | Cave Creek, Az United States | 06/15/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Former gruff vocalist, lead guitar player and songwriter of Tristania, Morten Veland, has now laid the groundwork for his new vision of the gothic-metal field. Continuing his work in the darker and symphonic genre, he has now resurfaced with his brand new collaboration SIRENIA with one goal in mind: to bring a fresh creative sound into fruition. SIRENIA plays a mixture of gothic metal with classical influences, as well as black and death metal nuances. These musical creations have solid foundation in the powerful drums and bass and are accompanied by
driving rhythm guitars, coupled with lilting keyboards, melancholic violins and 12-string guitars. The divergence of vocals utilized are numerous, with the use of growls, screams, female vocals, (3 different) clean male vocals, choirs, whispers and samples. The songs are very intense and the atmosphere changes frequently. The lyrics are based on reflections on life, death, love, hate, mental decline in general and celibacy(joke). At Sixes and Sevens is Sirenia's debut album but it really doesn't seem much like a debut since band leader/song writer Morten Veland recently left Tristania and was a force behind ttheir first two albums. Since Veland left Tristania because of artistic differences, he may as well have stayed, for the similarities between the two bands are eerie. True, Tristania has a little softer edge and Sirenia has overall heavier guitar work but not that noticeable, hardly worth getting upset about and starting over by yourself. And that is exactly what Veland did. On this debut album he has exactly one colleague and a new vocalist, Fabianne Gondamin (good but not the equal of Vikebe Stene from Tristania)a guest choir, a couple guest male singers and a guest violin player. A lot is going on vocally on this album, just like on all the Tristania's releases: clean male vocals, grunts, choirs, female vocals, whispers etc. So is Sirenia a masterpiece? According to some independent reviewers it is, but I don't think so. Is Sirenia's, At Sixes and Sevens better than, associates turned rivals, Tristania's, World of Glass? Again many independent reviewers toe the line and say It's far superior, however I'm not so sure. ASAS has a bolder more lush sound, While WOG's sound is more diversified. That's a tie. Tristania's Vikebe beats Sirenia's Fabianne hands down. It's very close but I would say WOG beats ASAS by a nose, shall we say 4 1/2 stars to 4 1/4 stars"

"I concede your pain is nonpareil"

D. Knouse | vancouver, washington United States | 03/29/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"nonpareil: having no equal, peerless



4.5 stars. This is the album fans of early Tristania knew Morten Veland could make if his bit and bridle were removed and he were allowed to run free through the Gothic countryside. This album is essentially a purging of his ambitions without constraint. The result is an often breathtaking ride mixed with Gothic choirs, lush orchestral arrangements, snarling and clean vocals (both male and female), Black Metal blastbeats, and even the occasional ode to 1980s New Wave pop. This concoction may sound a bit strange but Morten Veland shows he is a talented alchemist, particularly with arrangements and production value, where many different instruments and vocal styles interweave to create a tapestry of exciting soundscapes. The only times that make me feel impatient are when the instrumentation dwindles to a simple guitar riff, uncomplicated drums keeping time, and maybe a wash of keyboards as background atmosphere. These moments do not last long, however, and are mere blemishes on an otherwise seemless release. "Meridian" is an excellent example, as the beginning starts off fairly uninspired, but soon accelerates into Black Metal blastbeats reminiscent of Old Man's Child. The 1980's New Wave influence is virtually everywhere but only becomes glarlingly noticeable during the slower parts of songs where the minimalistic keyboards and bass drive the song. The production on this album is superb, and more often than not, so is the songwriting. All the songs on this album are laced with a variety of instruments and vocal styles, all arranged with intelligence and care. This album is easy to recommend."

Some of the best music I've heard!!!

Matt Stoessel | Tolland, CT USA | 02/02/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"There aren't many CDs out there that are written better than this one. Have you heard of Tristania? Sirenia features 2 members from that band. To me, that was like an OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!!, because Tristania's my 2nd favorite doom metal band behind Nightwish. The keyboards in both bands are about as atmospheric as it can get. All you hear is sheer perfection. The difference between the 2 is that Sirenia is a smidge more gothic than Tristania and that Sirenia is flat out a bit heavier and faster. Expect to hear some darn awesome music whenever you put this CD in!!! Violins? Yep - I'm listening to some right now in my favorite on the album, In a Manica. One of my friends who has borrowed about 20 of my CDs ranging from Stratovarius to Rotting Christ to Iced Earth said that this is the best he's ever borrowed. Another one of my friends complained because she got a sore throat for trying to sing along to In a Manica, but that's a different story. Not one song on this album is bad. All of them except for the last song are full songs over 5 minutes. The last song is about 4:30 and is much softer and violin-filled, more like a Tristania song. Operatic vocals are almost non-existant. Most of the vocals are grunts and growls. You do even hear the Moonspell-like, non-growl or grunt style of singing that I love. I'd go as far to say that this band out-atmospheres (you know what I mean) even the great Samael, and they are VERY atmospheric. (sorry about this paragraph being so all over the place)I find that I can love this album no matter what kind of music I'm listening to. The first 2 bangs at the 0:01 second mark on the first track will attract ANY respecter of true metal. This is one of the best openers I've ever heard that DOESN'T stand alone as a wonder. It is a great preview to what you are about to hear and fits in with the other songs. Does Eagleheart do that? I don't think so. I'm not sure about this yet, but I've been very interested in purchasing a Penumbra CD. They sound like a very good comparison to Sirenia. I just can't emphasize enough how I love this band. Their sounds blow me away. The variety isn't as good as on Beyond the Veil (Tristania), but its up there with the greats. To a certain degree, if you like true metal and don't fall in love this album, I would recommend you to never step near doom metal again. This is about as good as it gets. The violins are perfectly woven in, the keyboards are so good for not being the stand-out instrument, the singers do a superior job and are very confident in their voices, and the drums set the tone better than Trail of Tears, Theatre of Tragedy, and The Sins of Thy Beloved. (Why do so many of these doom metal bands have names starting with the letter "t"?) So what if the cover art doesn't set an atmosphere? Lately, I've noticed that as long as you've seen AN atmospheric cover art AND have once been taken to dreamland / outer space by a cover art, then you indeed CAN go to dreamland with ANY album, as long as the music can do it. So, all I have to say is to save up $15.00! This CD is an absolute must. This is the Mirror of Madness of doom metal. Buy it!!! When you get the time, go read some of my other reviews and say if they helped you or not."