Label : AFM Records
Review by Tony Cannella
Germany’s Lyriel has previously released three albums. Their last album “Paranoid Circus” was an excellent folk metal album with Celtic influences. Now Lyriel returns with album number four “Leverage”. “Leverage” is a short album at only 35-minutes, so there are very little wasted moments on the new offering from Lyriel. After the almost 2-minute “Intro”, the heavy riff kicks off the title track and “Leverage” is underway. Straight away Lyriel shows off their melodic side, while still maintaining a heavy and power metal oriented pace, with a power groove in the riffs. “Parting” begins with a slow, deliberate and heavy riff as the violin joins in. Despite the presence of violin this is actually a pretty straight-forward metal song, with some Celtic overtones. The next track “Voices in My Head” has an opening riff that kind of reminded me of “Vulgar Display of Power” era Pantera, but then the track settles into a groove that is more like Lyriel. “The Road Not Taken” is an acoustic ballad, with singer Jessica singing in soft, serene and peaceful vocal style. This is mostly a very relaxed ballad and a change of pace from the rest of the material on “Leverage”, before the rest of the band joins in at the end and it takes on a heavier tone. Other highlights include: “White Lilly”, “Side by Side” and “Repentance” as well as a couple of German language songs “Aus der Tiese” and “Wenn de Engel Fallen”. It’s all pretty potent stuff. On “Leverage”, Lyriel continues on the musical path that the fans have come to know and love. Compared to their earlier material, “Leverage” is a little more mainstream and accessible. That’s not a bad thing; it just shows a band that is becoming more mature and increasingly comfortable in their own skin.
Rating – 90/100
Tracklist
- Intro
- Leverage
- Parting
- Voices in My Head
- The Road Not Taken
- White Lilly
- Aus der Tiese
- Wenn die Engel Fallen
- Side by Side
- Repentance
Line Up
- Jessica Thierjung – Vocals
- Linda Laukamp – Cello & Additional Vocals
- Joon Laukamp – Violin
- Oliver Thierjung – Guitars
- Tim Sonnenstuhl – Guitars
- Steffen Feldmann – Bass
- Marcus Fidorra – Drums & Percussion
Links
MySpace * ReverbNation * Facebook * Site