Tears of Magdalena - Myth and Legends
In the flood, or daresay deluge of nowadays gothic crap, enter Tears of Magdalena. Granted, they did not bring anything new nor lots of originality here, but ('')originality('') is far too often an undesired feature in gothic metal. The best gothic metal is mostly the one molded according to standards. What I (and connoisseurs) deem standard includes: operatic female vocals, male death or black metal vocals, classical orchestral parts and a GOTHIC atmosphere. It is well-known what happens when gothic metal diverges into something else with the aforementioned originality. For those who don't know, you get an abomination similar to ''Musique'', or some atrocious mainstream-appealing cacophony imitating Lacuna Coil (or Evanescence). With that clear, Tears of Magdalena feature all the key elements necessary to a good gothic metal album. They have female operatic female vocals executed (by Magdalena Lee), harsh vocals (by Vasstago), classically influenced orchestral passages and a GOTHIC (romantic) atmosphere. There is also a twist to their sound, which would be a slight power metal leaning. As with the argument between the two line-ups of the band, I will jump it, as it doesn't affect this review.
This album is clearly dominated by Magdalena Lee, as she is the vocalist, she plays the violin and the keys, and is credited as the composer and producer of the music. On her Myspace, it says she is a dramatic soprano, and she calls herself a diva. This might sound a bit tottering (and it is), but it goes well along the whole thing, as she has credit behind it. Her voice adds a special dimension to the music. While not being dominating, it is lovely, gentle, ethereal, colorful and indeed dramatic, especially when she is vocalizing. It seems that the production hinders the vocals, drowning them slightly, but it doesn't detract too much from the whole experience. The violin parts are very beautiful. They have a slavic folk music leaning. They are unfortunately scant, but used to great effect. The keys present us rich classical orchestrations, mainly with playful and complex piano melodies, but also some other nice effects. In ''Immortal Love'', there is a part with church bells, which gives a dramatic impact. The orchestral arrangements evoke a fairy fantastic world, being colorful and gentle, never overbearing and they are used with taste, balancing with metal instruments well.
Vasstago's harsh vocals (death metal grunts) serve as contrast to those of Magdalena. And they are a contrast indeed. They are nothing special, being very generic and bland, often he seems like he is at the point to swallow his own tongue or vomit, but his vocals don't detract too much from the enjoyment. He is the lyricist and his lyrics are suiting the music, treating with love, history and fantasy, as the title of the album says. But, by themselves they are nothing special either – ie. No poetic passages, metaphors nor epithets, but they work when sung.
The metal section is standard. All instruments are used with good effect. There is a fair amount of heaviness, as well as few guitar solos and leads. Drums are just here to provide the rhythm, and the bass doesn't stand out either, just supporting drums and guitars.
While this album is not groundbreaking, it is very good. As it is the first album, Tears of Magdalena have played it a bit too safe, leaving a feeling of generic dryness, so some evolution would be welcome in the future. Lyrics could be greatly improved, because hearing Magdalena singing some of the bland lines on this album spoils the listening experience from time to time (the most ''In the silence'' and ''Nightmare''), as well as the production for the vocals, because such beautiful voice should be better heard violins could be used more, as they add that special extra enjoyment factor, and they should etch their music with their own seal, to give to it more memorability, because as it is, the music is not easily accessible, but not because of too much depth or complexity but because of the lack of memorability, which however doesn't come from the technical side of the compositions, (which is good) but from the ''too safe factor''. Thus, some songs are stellar, like ''Aurora Borealis'', ''Immortal Love'', ''The Eastway'', while others are not in the same caliber. It is a shame that, having shown their skills in thoe highlights, they didn't keep up the standards. But, all these flaws are easily passable when the music is heard – romantic, gentle and dramatic – a true GOTHIC atmosphere. This album will not be a milestone in gothic metal, but will be a precious jewel in the collections of gothic metal connoisseurs.
copas from http://www.metal-archives.com/reviews/Tears_of_Magdalena/Myths_and_Legends/214393/
Tracklist:
1. Aura Borealis
2. Cut Em Down
3. Immortal Love
4. The Eastway
5. In The Silence
6. Nightmare
7. Mermaid
8. Your Blood is Mine
TKP
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