Cadaveria
Far Away From Conformity
6.9
Everywhere I turn I find more and more women in metal bands, and frankly, it’s a nice development. Now while I usually encounter only angelic-voiced females, once in awhile a strong, powerful girl comes along with more than enough power to get her point across. Cadaveria is fronted by the woman of the same name who is best known for singing in the Italian act, Opera IX, while also containing members of Necrodeath. Never having heard Opera IX I was left to assume that this would be some more beautiful, operatic fluff. That isn’t the case at all. Cadaveria here sounds like a cross between two quite different gals, blending Angela Gossow’s (Arch Enemy) grating screams with Joan Jett’s 80’s power rock styling.
The music on display is equally as varied, at times composing a throwback, classic heavy metal atmosphere, and at other times, ratcheting up the intensity to form a near-death metal sound, as well as hitting many different levels in between. It is very much a hybrid sound, complimented by a great modern production. The guitars are clear, metallic, and crunchy, her vocals are perfectly placed in the mix, and the drums sound fine.
Cadaveria’s songwriting is generally strong, but can be hit-or-miss in a few spots. For example, the track “Irrelevant Elegy” fools around with some weak acoustic stuff in the first few minutes, then gradually rights the ship by summoning some mean metalcore riffage and finger-tapping solo action. “Out Body Experience” sounds like Cadaveria’s take on old Opeth, with randomly-inserted acoustic diversions amidst death metal mayhem. Good shit. On the other hand, “Call Me” is just plain silly. I suspect that it might be a cover, due to the fact that the lyrics are seemingly about her telling some guy to give her a call. Without the lyric sheet though, I can’t be sure. The music itself is some of the weaker material on the album.
On the whole, there is much more good than bad to be found on Far Away from Conformity. Some of the style changes can seem awkward, but Cadaveria do a fair job of mixing together a whole bunch of metal to form a pretty cohesive package, not to mention the impressive, throaty performance that the lady delivers. This album is worth a listen.
