Fateless Tears – “Halogen Dawn” EP (2012)

Label : BlueFreya Media

Review by Luisa Mercier

Fateless Tears are back and have just released a new EP called “Halogen Dawn”. The style proposed is their usual progressive metal with atmospheric moments crowned by S. Lee Baysinger‘s vocals. The title track is an almost 8 minute piece which starts in a slow pace, almost resembling a ballad and then acquiring traditional progressive sound. The piano central break is very moving.

The following “Tapestry” has a beautiful piano intro and it goes on with a synth based background on which the female vocals are free to express themselves. “Chysalys” is a short acoustic song while the myth-inspired “Annwyn” is a quiet song with a soft chorus as background music that make everything more ambient and rarefied. Last song is “Halflife” is another ballad, a simple one, just piano and vocals.  So, we can say that this EP focuses more on the slower, sweeter side of Fateless Tears, only the first song is more rock-centered. An interesting listening for all the fans of the band! Continue reading »

Angelical Tears – “The Eleventh Hour” (2012)

Label : BlueFreya

Review by Tony Cannella

When one thinks of good symphonic power metal bands, the United States of America is not a country that first leaps to mind. Europe seems to be the birthplace of many a good symphonic power metal band these days. The States can boast a few good bands in that genre of metal and one of them is Oklahoma’s Angelical Tears. The band formed in October 2006 and released their very good debut EP in 2010. Since that EP, the band went from being a six piece to a four piece band. Gone are the second guitarist and keyboardist. Now the new look Angelical Tears returns with their full-length debut, “The Eleventh Hour” and this is a band that has really started to come into their own. The EP was good, but this far surpasses it in quality and style, in my opinion.

On their Facebook page Angelical Tears describes themselves as Angelic vocals, demonic guitars, and thundering drums! That about sums it up, but there is so much more, like great songs, well written and performed and strong musicianship. I really like the Angelic vocals of Julia Flansburg, her style certainly fits the songs. The opening intro “Inceptum Fini” is pretty eerie and an atmospheric opening. The classy “Pool of Sorrow” follows the intro with a wall of solid riffs, a killer melody and some great vocals from Julia. Angelical Tears follows that up with the equally excellent “Queen of Hearts”. Next is the melancholic ballad “Ballad” (which has a “My Immortal” feel to it). This an emotional song that is sure to induce chills in its passion. Also included here is a cover of the great Journey song “Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)”. Anybody that covers Journey is OK in my book and Angelical Tears does a good job and even add their own twist to this classic song. Angelical Tears also include two songs (“Hate” and “Alone”) which have the lyrics song in Russian. Other highlights include: “Another Day”, “Sunrise at Sunset” and “With the Shadows”.

For some reason after listening to “The Eleventh Hour” I have the feeling that Angelical Tears would be a great live band – the songs just exude that feeling. Hopefully those outside of Oklahoma will get to experience Angelical Tears live, but until then we can revel in the awesomeness that is “The Eleventh Hour”. Continue reading »

Interview : Elizabeth Andrews – Frantic Amber

Interview by Si Smith

From the retro feel of Girlschool to the heavier riffage of Kittie, all-girl bands are slowly becoming more prevalent in the metal scene. More and more we are seeing the aggressive side of metal being represented with vocalists like Angela Gossow and Morgan Lander flying the flag for feminine brutality. Crashing into the scene like a juggernaut come Frantic Amber, a true international phenomena with members from Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Japan. Vocalist Elizabeth took some time off screaming at the mike to tell Femme Metal more about the band….. 

Firstly I would like to welcome you to the Femme Metal webzine and thank you for speaking with us about the band.

Thank you, it’s my pleasure!

Casting your mind back to 2008, how did the band start and how did your involvement with the band begin? 

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Interview : Richard & S.Lee Baysinger – Fateless Tears (2010)

Interview by Si Smith

Fateless Tears hail from New Mexico, and considering that their first release was in 2005, it is no mean feat to have released their FIFTH full-length in 2010. When you throw into the mix a number of successful singles and an active side project, the illustrious pairing of Richard and S.Lee proves to be a phenomenon of great substance in the metal world. Femme Metal stole some of their precious time to uncover more….

Having featured on our “Ferocity and Femininity” compilation, and been reviewed and interviewed by Femme Metal already, there must be still some more we need to know! For a start, it is clear from your back-catalogue that you both have great musicality. How did you both get involved in the music at the start? Did you always know that this was what you wanted to do?

Richard: I knew pretty early on that music was something I wanted to pursue. I have several relatives who have played guitar and sang. One of my uncles has released a few country music albums, while another co-wrote and played on a couple of country music hit singles back in the ’70s. I knew that I wanted to carry on their tradition, albeit doing it my own way in rock and metal instead of country.

S. Lee: I do not think that I have ever known a world without music and song. My mother sang to me, around me and with me. Wandering around singing little songs that I had heard, learned, or thought up are some of my earliest memories. As soon as I could write well, poems and lyrics as well as short stories and drawing became central focuses of my free time. I am not assured that any of these activities were truly separate from one another. I am told that I often sang in my sleep as a small child.

I believe that since we last spoke to you Paul has now joined you as a full member of the band. How has that affected the dynamic of the band, in the writing, recording and also the live setting?

Richard: Funny how that works… while Paul was a full member for “The Chaise”, he went back to being a guest artist on our albums shortly after its release. Unfortunately, due to his very busy schedule, he was unable to be part of FT full-time. He is one of my closest friends and he will continue to have guest spots on our albums. Regrettably, he doesn’t have the time to be more than a listening ear and helping hand. Chris from Amadeus & Demise of Gideon also guests on our albums covering vocal duties and some guitar. They are both very important to S.Lee and I, and we really appreciate their help on our music.

Richard, you have been active on The Demise of Gideon recently. Would you like to tell us about it? How does it relate to your work in Fateless Tears?

Well, one day I looked into my “Riffs” folder and I had a whole album worth of riffs that I felt were more in the vein of old school thrash metal. I didn’t feel that they worked well for FT.  At the same time, Chris and I started talking about doing a project together. Four months later, the album was done. It ended up being sort of an old school thrash/prog/death album. “Twingence”, the 28 minute, seven-part epic, is one of my proudest moments as a composer/songwriter. Through it, S. Lee provided vocals on “Adagio”, “Rondo” and “Coda”. “Adagio” became part of the new album, because it is very much in the FT vein and we felt it would be a nice addition to the album.

The first song on the new album, “Primary” is a new song. Could you tell us a little about it?

Richard: “Primary” was originally written for the new FT album, on which we are currently working. When we signed with Blue Freya, Karl, S. Lee, and I wanted to get something new out there, especially out in digital shops like iTunes and Amazon. Consequently, we pulled “Primary” from the new album, as it was the song most completed and pushed it forward to HWYHBM.

S. Lee: The lyrics in “Primary” are very much a reflection on the dichotomy between the subconscious and conscious world within one’s mind, thoughts and actions. I hope that they convey the truth of pieces of ourselves that we must subsume and the duality of faces we must assume to cope with and navigate the pressures, uncertainties, and pitfalls in the waking world. For me, “Primary” captures the essence of our true self, an ideal self, that is only unrestrained and dominant in sleep wherein we reconnect with who we are and rejuvenate to face daily life challenges.

Interview : Julia Flansburg – Angelical Tears

Interview by Lindz Riot

In America you wouldn’t ever even begin to think a gothic metal band would come from their lands. Sure, Europe is very well known for producing favourites like Within Temptation and Nightwish, and we have been lucky enough to get the alternative act We Are the Fallen from California! America needs to brace itself for a brave band from Oklahoma City who are mastering the European metal sound with an angelical siren named Julia. They are called Angelical Tears and they describe themselves at angelical vocals with demonic guitars. You have to hear them for yourself! Their recently released EP is very impressive. Here’s what Julia has to say about her journey with the band so far.

Hello Julia and welcome to the Femme Metal Webzine, thanks so much for taking the time do this interview with us. First of all I would love to know the origin of Angelical Tears. When and where did it all start and how did the band come to be?

Well, Angelical Tears was born around Halloween time 4 years ago in Oklahoma city to fill a void it had in the symphonic female fronted metal scene.

After taking a good listen to your songs I feel as if they are fantasy based, but that could just be because of your sound. What are the stories behind your songs? Are they true stories?

I try to write my lyrics that are based on real life – my experience or my friend’s life stories.

So regarding your live show: what is the music scene like in Oklahoma? How have your shows and fans been? How long have you been playing live for anyways?

If we were a country ensemble the music scene in Oklahoma would be amazing. The rock and especially the metal scenes are practically non-existent. Most of the time we end up playing shows with hard-core metal bands. Because the scene is so undeveloped here we get better reception outside of Oklahoma.

From what I hear your sound is very much like that of the music coming out of Europe. What bands have inspired Angelical Tears as a whole?

Each band member had its own inspiration some love classical musical, some dig heavy metal. And of course European metal with female singers is something that we all like. Bands like Lacuna Coil, Within Temptation and so on definitely in some way has inspired us to write our stuff.

So I wanted to say congrats on the Australian distribution and the release of your self titled EP! It’s really great stuff. How are you finding the response has been to these 6 songs?

The response has been great, especially in Europe. Hungary and Romania have been quite receptive.

What is the song writing process like for Angelical Tears? Who mostly writes the music and who is the main lyricist?

We all try to write music and lyrics. But mostly I write lyrics and the guys write the music. Each one of us tries to contribute whatever he/she can during the creative process.

My favourite song is “Tomorrow Happens Now”, if you don’t mind telling me what’s the story behind it? What is your favourite song and why?

“Tomorrow Happens Now” – that song is about wanting that special someone to be with you right now in the moment. Dreaming about that person, but he’s far away and you don’t know when you are going to meet him/her again. It’s hard to say which song is my favourite. They are all meaningful to me and have their own story. 

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