Review of Elis - Dark Clouds In A Perfect Sky

“O Metalreview gods why hath you forsaken me? Why ist thou angered with me? In some prior life was I some sort of child sodomizing, latent shiteater and this is my next life’s penance?

Why?
Why…?
WHY HAVE YOU ANOINTED ME THIS WEBSITE’S GOTH METAL REVIEWER??????

Slated for review I have Elis, Visions of Atlantis and Darkwell. I mean how much pompous overwrought crunching, head spinningly catchy female fronted foreign metal can one man take? None of it really bad per say and Elis could easily be considered the best of the bunch, being Germany’s foremost act of this genre, but honestly is there really this much demand for this sort of leather clad, hottie fronted, mope metal beyond Lacuna Coil and Nightwish? Should we all kill Amy Lee for bringing this kind of music to the forefront of metal’s popularity, I mean I can buy Lacuna Coil at Target for Chissakes.

Any way I digress. My apologies. With their third album, Elis deliver a strictly by the numbers operatic Goth metal peice that covers the same ground as the aforementioned popular duo as well as more recently the likes of Epica and After Forever. Everything for a successful foray into familiar Goth Metal territory is present in spades; lush production, symphonic keyboards, soaring female vocals and a healthy mix of crunchy foot tapping anthems and somber hymns. Nothing even remotely original, but to give credit where credit is due, Elis (and admittedly most of the acts in the genre) do their thing with a completely professional and convincing sheen. Alexander Krull’s production is appropriately lavish and surprisingly heavy. Also to their credit, they do render one of the more dramatically impressive Goth metal songs I’ve heard since Lacuna Coil's “Heaven’s A Lie” in the harrowingly addictive “Perfect Love”.

As with prior albums, the songs are a mix of English and German, with the German coming across as slightly awkward due to the languages innate harsh delivery trying to imbue a more romantic and operatic tone. Tracks like “Der Letze Tag” and “Der Zeit” just don’t quite carry the same tactile emotional weight as tracks like the aforementioned “Perfect Love” or the thickly dramatic “Black Angel”, despite essentially the same musical structures. As with most bands of this style, Elis’s centerpiece is crooner Sabine Duenser who has the necessary operatic pipes and looks for the genre, although her voice is far more suited to the more ballad-esque tracks rather than trying to keep up with ill advised moments of more forced up tempo beats (“Lost Soul”, “Are You Missing Me?”).

Elis is definitely the cream of the second crop of Goth metal acts, only slightly behind Lacuna Coil and Nightwish, but considering the widespread success of those two bands it may just be a matter of time before Elis gets some well deserved recognition.

Release Details

Elis

Dark Clouds In A Perfect Sky

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