Die Verbannten Kinder Evas - Dusk and Void Became Alive
Napalm Records - DPR015 - November 3, 2006
By Wayward_Son
Nearly seven years have separated 1999’s amazing In Darkness Let Me Dwell and the latest from Austria’s Die Verbannten Kinder Evas (The Exiled Children of Eve). Having been a big fan of the 1999 release, I’ve been looking forward to Dusk and Void Became Alive for quite some time. It appears the band has, once again, gone through changes.
For those of you who are in the dark, Die Verbannten Kinder Evas is the second band of Richard Lederer, also known as Protector from our favorite fantasy metal gurus, Summoning. The first two albums featured Richard’s sister, Julia, on vocals. Michael Gregor (Silenius of Summoning) provided vocals and wrote some songs on the debut. They both decided to leave the band, paving the way for the classical influenced vocals of Tania Borsky to join Richard on In Darkness Let me Dwell. This album fell into more darkwave territory than the previous two. Being a devout fan of Dargaard, I found this refinement towards a darker sound to be quite pleasing.
Which brings us to Dusk and Void Became Alive. Tania Borsky has unfortunately left the band. In her stead, Richard has found Christina Kroustali to execute the female vocals, so vital to Die Verbannten Kinder Evas' sound. Her voice is higher-pitched and not nearly as dark sounding as Tania’s, which bodes well for the latest sound. The album as a whole is still foreboding and melancholic like In Darkness Let Me Dwell, but lacking in some of the majesty that pervaded throughout that release. This probably has something to do with the lack of Lederer’s presence on vocals. Past releases have featured both male and female vocals adequately, but with Dusk and Void Became Alive, it is the female dominating most of the one hour running time.
As always, the music itself is nothing short of breathtaking. A mixture of chamber music, ambient, and darkwave is a solid, short description. At times, the slower moments of Summoning can be heard, minus the guitars and Lord of the Rings samples, of course. Once again, Lederer proves his worth behind the piano (or keyboard, if you must), by playing some moving passages of loss and hopelessness.
It must be known that I do not abhor this opus from Die Verbannten Kinder Evas. Quite the opposite, in fact. In Darkness Let Me Dwell just happened to leave an impression upon me, so anything deviating from that formula was destined to be a disappointment, no matter how slight. This release will no doubt impress those adventurous few willing to step out of the metal comfort zone to search out something meant to be experienced, not simply heard. There are no standout tracks, and absolutely no fillers. This is not something to throw in the player and skip to certain tracks, as it ruins the flow of an album designed to be heard as a whole.
To you, faithful reader, I leave the hope that this album finds you, and finds you well.
Official Die Verbannten Kinder Evas Website
Official Napalm Records Website
Napalm Records - DPR015 - November 3, 2006
By Wayward_Son
Nearly seven years have separated 1999’s amazing In Darkness Let Me Dwell and the latest from Austria’s Die Verbannten Kinder Evas (The Exiled Children of Eve). Having been a big fan of the 1999 release, I’ve been looking forward to Dusk and Void Became Alive for quite some time. It appears the band has, once again, gone through changes.
For those of you who are in the dark, Die Verbannten Kinder Evas is the second band of Richard Lederer, also known as Protector from our favorite fantasy metal gurus, Summoning. The first two albums featured Richard’s sister, Julia, on vocals. Michael Gregor (Silenius of Summoning) provided vocals and wrote some songs on the debut. They both decided to leave the band, paving the way for the classical influenced vocals of Tania Borsky to join Richard on In Darkness Let me Dwell. This album fell into more darkwave territory than the previous two. Being a devout fan of Dargaard, I found this refinement towards a darker sound to be quite pleasing.
Which brings us to Dusk and Void Became Alive. Tania Borsky has unfortunately left the band. In her stead, Richard has found Christina Kroustali to execute the female vocals, so vital to Die Verbannten Kinder Evas' sound. Her voice is higher-pitched and not nearly as dark sounding as Tania’s, which bodes well for the latest sound. The album as a whole is still foreboding and melancholic like In Darkness Let Me Dwell, but lacking in some of the majesty that pervaded throughout that release. This probably has something to do with the lack of Lederer’s presence on vocals. Past releases have featured both male and female vocals adequately, but with Dusk and Void Became Alive, it is the female dominating most of the one hour running time.
As always, the music itself is nothing short of breathtaking. A mixture of chamber music, ambient, and darkwave is a solid, short description. At times, the slower moments of Summoning can be heard, minus the guitars and Lord of the Rings samples, of course. Once again, Lederer proves his worth behind the piano (or keyboard, if you must), by playing some moving passages of loss and hopelessness.
It must be known that I do not abhor this opus from Die Verbannten Kinder Evas. Quite the opposite, in fact. In Darkness Let Me Dwell just happened to leave an impression upon me, so anything deviating from that formula was destined to be a disappointment, no matter how slight. This release will no doubt impress those adventurous few willing to step out of the metal comfort zone to search out something meant to be experienced, not simply heard. There are no standout tracks, and absolutely no fillers. This is not something to throw in the player and skip to certain tracks, as it ruins the flow of an album designed to be heard as a whole.
To you, faithful reader, I leave the hope that this album finds you, and finds you well.
Official Die Verbannten Kinder Evas Website
Official Napalm Records Website
