Band:	Elferya
Album:	Eden's Fall
Style:	Symphonic metal
Release date:	September 2015

01. Eden's Fall
02. With All My Love
03. Elferya
04. Ghost Of Mary
05. Cruel Night
06. The Dreamcatcher
07. Toys Of A Modern Man
08. Across The Earth
09. Alone With You
10. Metal Hearts
11. Close Your Eyes

Sometimes, all it takes is an addictive hit single pull listeners in and keep them coming back enough to delve deeper into an album, one that eventually becomes as satisfying as a whole as that first single. Elferya's second full-length, Eden's Fall, shows a band willing to take a strong melody for each song and thoroughly develop it, all with their own touch of catchy symphonic metal and hints of introverted, gothic elements. Elferya not only take one down a spiraling, unpaved road through their forest of love and dreams, but they retain enough of that initial, attractive spark of music that begins each song's journey to leave a trail that brings the listener back home.

Eden's Fall marks the first album featuring singer Melody Dylem after Claire-Lyse von Dach's departure in 2014, and decidedly announces itself with a much improved production, with Valery Veings's guitarwork just as strong now as the vocals and symphonics. The change also gives a slight difference in musical direction to support Melody's style, so while the new release still keeps a fairytale feel, it delivers a darker one, with a lessened feel of classical throwbacks and operatics, and instead takes on a more metal-driven posture. She brings equal amounts of increased emotional power and fragility, as well as something that I really enjoyed, in that her vocals have made Elferya feel more approachable.

Without a doubt, "With All My Love," and its accompanying video, had me enthralled from the first moment I heard the song. After an excellent instrumental intro, it begins with a confidence Elferya did not have previously, taking full advantage of the traditional hard rock and metal arrangements, highlighted by one of the most addictive symphonic melodies of the past year. Melody's vocal lines match keyboardist Lionel Blanc's notes in the main chorus with just the right amount of cyclical variation to keep the listener wanting to hear it again and again. One can almost feel the song's protagonist circling through rainsoaked city streets, hands full of the blood of a lover, yet sweetly speaking poetic words of love as she regrets - yet smiles - about everything that has transpired. There is a constant level of dramatic flair built into the start of every newly arrived verse, culminating at around 4:40, and then finishing out with all the excitement a song-ending solo can deliver.

It took numerous listens to move past such a strong opening vocal track, but once I did, I found myself rewarded with an impressive middle section to an album that shows off a darker, more bombastic tone, but yet becomes equally as accessible over time. Again, in "Ghost Of Mary," we find Lionel's keys and Melody's vocals intertwined throughout the track, this time with drummer Greg Turini's rhythms delivering a backdrop that not only emphasizes yet another catchy melody, they make the band sound like an intensely defiant group of beleaguered, yet resilient victims towards the haunting ghost. "Cruel Night" sees Elferya adding gothic touches in between symphonic arrangements, as Melody sings the line "Eyes open, surrounded by darkness" in a way that straddles eeriness with warmth, feeling like a delightful touch upon one's shoulder, only to have fingernails scrape just hard enough against the skin to draw blood to the surface and leave a mark one is not sure is for love, or for something more sinister.

One thing I really like about Eden's Fall is that it does not run thin and base all of its strengths upon vocal delivery, which is so often the downfall of forgettable albums in the genre. From the emphatic "Toys Of A Modern Man," and its mixture of resounding percussion and symphonics with Valery's straightforward, addictive guitar riff throughout, Elferya demonstrate their depth with conviction. Furthermore, Elferya is more than willing to use a second instrumental to get the listener ready for the final portion of the album. In "Across The Earth," not only do we find a bright and soulful mix of guitar and bass solos, we get Mathilde Sonney's violin brought to the forefront, in one of the more memorable portions of the disc. I feel this track is why the following folk ballad, "Alone With You," is such a grand song when listening to the album. Here, Elferya humbly evoke an image of a couple reflecting on a painting of them from when they first met, the two standing before a pristine lake at sunrise, all with an acoustic guitar and violin soundtrack that is ultimately beautiful in its timeless simplicity.

From heartfelt ballads, to an ever-present confidence in instrumentation and ability to pull off varied yet familiar song structures, to that rousing single in "With All My Love," Elferya deliver an album that will easily find replay value with symphonic fans who appreciate diverse, self-released albums filled with absorbing yet accessible melodies. Elferya have evolved their sound into something that demands to be played live, willing to lead us down their path of dreams, dark nights of lovers left behind, and starlit skies beside those we care for most, no matter how lonely we may feel beneath the songs we weave between each other.