Aesma Daeva - Dawn Of The New Athens - guest review
Aesma Daeva - Dawn Of The New Athens - guest review
Tracklist
01. Tisza's Child02. The Bluish Shade
03. Artemis
04. Hymn To The Sun
05. D'Oreste
06. The Camp Of Souls
07. Ancient Verses
08. Since The Machine
09. The Loon
Guest review by
Ernis July 06, 2007
One of the key words for this album is certainly "joy of recognition". Tracklist includes brand new versions of two key songs from the previous release "The New Athens Ethos". The main tunes and sequences of "The Eros Of Frigid Beauty" are also recognisable in the new song "Ancient Verses". Good old songs are shown light upon from slightly different angles and rosen to another level. Lori Lewis doesn't make any disappointment at all and proves to have vocal powers and singing style entirely comparable to Melissa's.
The crème de la crème of this album is without any doubt "D'Oreste", the aria of Elettra from the opera "Idomeneo" by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. There is no point to start glorifying nor praising Lori's voice with any elaborate words since only one word will sum it all up. "Technique". The aria requires a strong voice and profound training in operatic style and this is the particular place where Lori proves to be equally good compared to Melissa who sang the same song during band's live performances. By far one of the best and most successful attempts to combine metal with classical music.
The rest of the album doesn't surprise nor disappoint with anything particular. The haunting female vocals, the echoes and misty atmosphere, hard and deep instrumental side in certain places, all of it is present. A minus is that there should perhaps be more new songs instead of just cover versions of tracks from the older albums. On the other hand, the tracks "The Bluish Shade" and "Since the Machine" unveil the possible future trails of the band. Already familiar acoustic tracks of Ancient Greek and medieval music have lost their dominance and now show green light to sombre metal accompaniment which never leaves us. Slight similarity with Therion's musical atmopsphere is emerging. The lyrical themes also introduce a brand new topic of futuristic world inspired by the dystopian novel "1984" by George Orwell.
All in all, Aesma Daeva proves that they have come to stay. "Dawn of the New Athens" is a promising album which proves that the band has some new and interesting plans and that we may expect something new from them soon. There will be definitely more surprises from Aesma Daeva one day.
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 9 |
| Songwriting: | 8 |
| Originality: | 6 |
| Production: | 8 |
Written by Ernis | July 06, 2007
Guest review disclaimer:
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
Comments
Comments:
8
Visited by
67 users
 Posts: 352 |
Posts: 352
I absolutely adore this band...Ironically, the only album of theirs I haven't heard, it's the one with Melissa...
Loading...
|
 Posts: 6817 |
Posts: 6817 Written by Metal Maiden on 11.12.2007 at 03:41 Melissa sings on the second and third album....she doesn't sing lead on all the tracks of the second release but the key tracks feature her lead vocals...
Loading...
|
| H.p.lovecraft
Account deleted |
|
 Posts: 99 |
Loading...
|
|
Posts: 3 |
|
 Posts: 887 |
Posts: 887
Am currently listening to this album. "D'oreste D'ajace" is one of the tracks that stood out for me. This is also my first experience with the band so am not familiar with the cover versions of the previous tracks. Its took me more listens that normally to appreciate the band. I also think Dawn of the New Athens is one of the few albums that have managed to strike a balance btn classical, medieval music and metal Nice review
---- Freeze! Step away from the hubris.
Loading...
|
|
Posts: 697  |
Posts: 697
Aesma Daeva does a wonderful job, they were a pleasure to see live here in their home town. I as of yet don't have this release, I do have the alternative versions of the loon though. After reading this review, I feel I need to have this!!
---- Old enough to be your Daddy... speaking of which... you look familiar... do I know your mother???
Loading...
|
 Posts: 2311 |
Posts: 2311
Was the 6 in originality for the song remakes? I honestly think of this band as one of the most original acts of the symphonic genre. Good review, I really hope the band reactivates this year as promised 
Loading...
|
Hits total: 7348 | This month: 13