SHADES OF FATE

Nice initial effort from this German five-piece, taking their cues from the Dream Theater school of progressive metal but expanding it with gentle flute soloing, clear female lead vocals, the occasional growls to contrast it and some nifty features from the rhythm department.

The compositions as such have more of an emphasis in moods, atmospheres and resonances than pace-filled technical virtuosity however, and the slow to midpaced compositions are generally of the darker variety in sound. A few gentle passage inserts contrasts the otherwise rich and massive cascades provided by the riff constructions quite nicely, and while a few details short of impressive this is a fine initial effort by a band that comes across as creative and talented.

'Shades Of Fate' - Effloresce (6/10)

As unfair as it is, metal bands with female vocalists have been getting a negative backlash over the past few years. The growing impression is that many of these bands will sacrifice instrumental integrity for a commercial focus, and artistic integrity for the perceived sex appeal of their womanly frontwomen. Making matters worse is the fact that with the majority of female-fronted metal bands I have come across, this appears to be painfully true. There will always be bands who are able to overcome this stereotype, but it will sadly take an extra edge for many female-fronteds to achieve widespread respect. In the case of German act Effloresce, that 'edge' happens to be the incorporation of prog into their metal sound. Although this combination has been done before, Effloresce deliver an impressive execution, and even demonstrate some exciting potential, although at this point, their influences never tread far behind them.

Being a progressive metal band, it's virtually taken for granted nowadays that Dream Theater would have some measure of influence on them. To my surprise, the technical indulgences are kept in moderation here; Effloresce will instead let the instrumentation prosper within the confines of their songwriting. Although Effloresce won't blow someone away who has heard a talented prog metal band play before, they are very proficient with their instruments, and the sound is given a very professional coat of production. The drumwork throughout 'Shades Of Fate' is particularly impressive, with a tight grasp of the double-kick adding some heaviness to the generally melodic approach of the band. For their compositions, Effloresce was ambitious to open their career with three ten-minute pieces, but it works well for them. Each of these tracks scales through a number of ideas, focusing on some larger themes in order to create a sense of structure to the pieces. I found the times when Effloresce broke from the 'typical' sound to be the most exciting to listen to, whether it was a dark acoustic interlude, or passage of instrumental intensity.

Although Effloresce skirt away from the typical Dream Theater worship, their allegiances lie with another god. Opeth is without a doubt, the most noticeable influence that Effloresce bring into their sound. The second track 'Sear' best demonstrates this; a constant shift between jazzy acoustic chords and powerful metal riffs. Even the solos can sound like the guitarists in Effloresce are trying to emulate Mikael Akerfeldt and his style of playing. It certainly wasn't as evident in the first track, but by the end of 'Shades Of Fate', I am left feeling disappointed by the band. Although they have plenty of skill as musicians, they come across as being copycats. Ironically, my one apprehension I had before listening to Effloresce turned out to be the one thing that gave them a bit of a different sound. That, of course, was their use of the female voice, which I haven't had a great experience with in metal. Nicki's voice is strong, but typical of the 'metal diva' archetype I have come to expect from this sort of band. Having her operatic style (and occasional growls!) brushed up against Opeth's instrumentation works quite well, although it's not enough to set 'Shades of Fate' apart as the work of a unique band. Effloresce are acute sufferers of the copycat syndrome overall, but their talent leaves the possibility of success wide open.

I wonder about the people who are obsessed with Prog Metal.Because I think this genre does not vary enough to be obsessed with. I have listened to prog metal for 3-4 years now, I can easily say most of the bands imitate the ideas of Dream Theater. Dream Theater formed those ideas on the ideas of Rush. God knows where Rush got them. But for me, this genre is one filthy child of many possible fathers.

A new band from Germany, Effloresce, is a progressive metal band with female vocals. Featuring 3 songs, all of them over 8 mins, this EP is kind of a weird experience for me. I won't go that far to call them copycats. I think they're trying hard to make something original. Let me talk about each song and you decide:

Birds of Prey: This song immidiately brings Dream Theater to mind. The length is over 10 minutes and I really enjoy the general composition. The things that make this song seperable from Dream Theater are the vocals and some solos. I think the musicians have their own style of playing, instead of just imitating Dream Theater.Yet some melodies and phrases remind Dream Theater a lot. I like the ending with fade-out though.

Sear: Now we're listening to Opeth. Opeth is a damned band, when a fan of this band writes and plays music, the listener can easily feel the Opeth inside if the musician is not careful enough. The vocal lady presents some growls here, which I really don't like. It sounds like a dying squirrel to me, no offense though.

Sunset In the Snowdome: Since we listened to the major influences(Dream Theater, Opeth) mix them together to make something better. The flutes are nice. I like the mellow parts.

Composition and instrumentation-wise, this band is very strong and promising. So you gotta give them credit. These people obviously love what they do. Possibly and hopefully they can record an album full of original ideas in the future. The biggest mistake they would make is to depend on already used 1000 times ideas. They have a big potential to get much better. They will release their debut LP soon, mixed and produced by Dan Swanö. I'm pretty excited about that.

Birds of prey...

Genre: progressive Gothic metal

Although the female-fronted German band Effloresce released this EP back in 2009, "Shades of Fate" is currently being promoted, probably in connection with the upcoming release of their debut album "Coma Ghosts" which will hit the streets in February this year.

And I am actually sympathetic towards this strategy, because this EP does not deserve to be cast into oblivion. Taking their starting point in the type of progressive metal for which Dream Theater and Fates Warning paved the way two decades ago, Effloresce delivers progressive metal with a Gothic touch. Sacrificing some of the technicality of performance that characterize many acts in the progressive metal universe in the name of mood and emotional expressivity, Effloresce have produced a fairly original piece of work in "Shades of Fate".

Now, the complexity is there. I mean the average song length is around ten minutes, and every song is complex in structure and full of moves and passages, some of which are aggressive, some of which are darkly psychedelic, some of which are mellow, some of which are lush, some of which are minimalist, and some of which are more in the vein of alternative metal. Thus, the three tracks are quite dynamic and rich in expression, and there are complex time signatures other advanced elements plus non-metal element such as the use of the flute, which appears in 'Sunset in the Snowdome'. So, there is no doubt that this is complex and progressive metal for the thinking person, but it never becomes too technical or too quirky and, consequently, quite accessible.

There are no major flaws on the album. The vocals, I must admit, do not appeal to me, as they are mostly on the soft and gentle side. A personal preference of mine when it comes to female vocalists in metal is more rockish vocals, and there is not a lot of belting on this album. Still, Nicki Weber is a very talented vocalist, and she does a good job with the vocals (she actually does a lot of death growling on the EP), and no-one can take that away from her.

One thing that is a problem, I think, is that the production seems a bit imbalanced with the guitars and drums being really loud - which is perhaps one reason why the vocals come across as weak every now and then. It should be mentioned that the bass is audible, so we are not dealing with an "...And Justice for All"-case here. And, I think that a lot of people will actually like the unpolished sound of the album.

Sophisticated and dynamic, "Shades of Fate" is a fine and quite original progressive metal release which should appeal to both fans of progressive metal and Gothic metal. If "Coma Ghosts" is going to be along the lines of Shades of Fate, then things definitely look promising.

(review originally posted at seaoftranqiulity.org)