Elevare - World... desert? 4/5
Reviewed: 12-5-08
Tracklist:
1. Alarm
2. Paint the beauty forever
3. Body that feels
4. The last melody
5. Another way to touch you
6. Where's my ground?
7. World... desert?
8. Follow me
9. The will and the animal
10. Between us
11. Chaotic landscape
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Elevare is a new band from Brazil and 'World... desert?' is their full-length debut. Their main style is gothic metal (occasionally entering rock territory), but with a progressive edge at times. The best band comparison I can come up with is the popular Lacuna Coil, and the bands really mirror each other as far as heaviness, but the way Elevare incorporates the use of a piano and keyboard provides a listen that's less standard and more refreshing. The progressive elements are subtle, yet add something special and interesting to a usually basic style (gothic metal).
The band is fronted by the lovely Pamela Emanuelle, who has a truly wonderful voice that leaves a lasting impression. There are some clear male vocals too, by Leandro Trombini, who is also one of the guitarists (along with David Riera), so the band is a bit similar to Lacuna Coil vocally as well. Pamela greatly dominates the vocal duties though, and it's a good thing, as seriously, she has one of the best voices I've heard this year and her performance is a big reason why this CD is so great.
While the first few listens of this CD left me feeling that it was a bit too light for me and I wouldn't like it, I quickly changed my mind, as the entire CD oozes excellent songwriting, and when I thought harder about it, this band isn't any lighter than Lacuna Coil and similar bands that I have. In addition, the songs are very catchy, extremely memorable, and really, the songwriting and talent of the band shines in each and every song. This is not a CD with speed, and nearly all of the songs are of the mid-paced/bouncy (fairly upbeat) variety, though there are some nice acoustic guitar-led slow songs where Pamela really stands out. A few of the songs also feature a violin (courtesy of Diogo Dadalti), and just like the piano/keyboard, it also adds something refreshing.
So what we end up with is a debut that on paper sits on the border of the lighter side of my tastes, but being excellent from start to finish, this is getting more spins currently than a lot of power metal CDs that sit right in the center of my tastes. So I want to emphasize that if you even remotely dig female fronted gothic metal, you've got to check this out immediately, as there's a great chance that Pamela's sensational vocals and the hook-filled songs will quickly pull you in.
CLINT
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