Band:	Eternal Tears Of Sorrow
Album:	Chaotic Beauty
Style:	Melodic death metal, Extreme power metal
Release date:	2000
Guest review by:	The_Hellion

01. Shattered Soul
02. Blood Of Faith Stains My Hands
03. Autumn's Grief
04. The Seventh Eclipse
05. Bride Of The Crimson Sea
06. Black Tears [Edge Of Sanity cover]
07. Tar Of Chaos
08. Bhean Sidhe
09. Nocturnal Strains
10. The Flight Of Icarus [Iron Maiden cover] [Japanese & South American bonus]
11. Coronach [Japanese bonus]
12. Nightwind's Lullaby [Japanese bonus]
13. Burning Flames' Embrace [Japanese bonus]

I bought this album on a recommendation from the clerk in the CD store I used to go to. The first thing I started to notice was the instruments and the combination thereof. I must admit at first I thought it was a little bit saturated. I guess listening to blastbeats, dominant keyboard melodies, and fast guitar riffs while Altti Veteläinenit was growling was too much to process. Once you manage to identify what's going on, and how well they manage to put it all together, you'll love it.

The melodies get better and better as the album goes on; you just don't realize when the melody switches from the guitar to the keyboards. Solos are also shared by these two instruments. I believe that a huge part of the success of this album is the focus they put into the music, and how they managed to give importance to each member of the band. They execute everything perfectly and the music composition couldn't be better. All instruments have their moments to shine (except for the bass, which I'm fine with). Let's take into consideration that Pasi Hiltula played on the first three Kalmah albums (another great band), and allow me to say that he has a much important role on Chaotic Beauty.

Pasi Hiltula's job on the keyboards is so important (melodic guitars have an influence on this, too) that the moment he appears, he determines whether the song is powerful and aggressive or melancholic and depressive. They really gave the keyboards an important role on the album, contrary to other bands that only add keyboards you wish weren't there.

Another aspect that makes this album so great is that all the slow, fast, sad, and aggressive moments just flow naturally. Nothing sounds forced or experimental with Eternal Tears Of Sorrow. This album sounds how they wanted it to sound, and it just sounds awesome. Also, although I was never a fan of Kimberly Goss, even after trying to force myself by listening to Synergy albums over and over (which ended up having the opposite result), I enjoyed her collaboration on this album. Her voice contributes to the ambiance of the songs in a positive way.

I do have one complaint, though: when I'm listening to an album that has been great from the very beginning, my expectations for the last song are high. Don't get me wrong - "Nocturnal Strains" is as good as the rest of the songs, but that's exactly the problem; it's another good song in the album. I'm probably not the only one who was surprised after the awkward silence following "Nocturnal Strains." Where's our glorious closure? Where's the epic ending? I'd say that's the only thing missing from the album: proper closure.