Elysion - Silent Scream Review

***Originaly posted on January 7, 2011***

Elysion was quite a suprise. I found it through the iTunes "Other Listeners Bought" section for another band, Whyzdom (That I am still coming up with an opinion about, review to come soon). I was a little turned off by the dark nature of the album cover, the whole bug-eyed mask and the Victorian funeral dress. It was a little creepy.... But I decided to give it a quick listen, at least give them something of a chance. I was astounded! The crisp voice of lead vocalist Christianna blended with the heavyness of the band perfectly. This Greek band is comparible to bands such as: Evanescence, Nemesea, Lunatica, and Within Temptation.

Album breakdown:

"Dreamer" - The opening track. Starting off the song is some softer synth keys that lead into the heavy metal of the band before softening again to the vocals. Christianna shows off some of her vocal power in the chorus of this song. Speaking of the chorus, it has some great lyrics:
"I will be always a dreamer,
Always Fighting for more than I can have
I will be always a dreamer
And I'll never think I've had enough
Dreams come true if you believe them
Hit the brakes, let no one on your way
I will be always a dreamer"
Maybe its just me, but they hit a chord with me....

"Killing My Dreams" - Here we start again with the synth keys, but the band starts up quicker. Christianna's vocals are muffled for the first part, but it works. The song talks about how we all just stand back and let things happen to us, instead of standing up and saying "that's not right". Yet again we have another great chorus:
"We are all being used
Our lives have been abused
Still, no one resists
I guess, there's nothing to lose
I'm no longer confused
You're killing my dreams"

"Never Forever" - Another song where Christianna shows off her vocal prowess. Rather interesting lyrics though, I have yet to figure out what this song is about... but it sounds great!

"Weakness In Your Eyes" - The first ballad on the album. The softer and beautiful side of Elysion, but it shows some of their harsher elemnts towards the end.

"Don't Say a Word" - Opens with a dreamy sort of feel, then goes into a toe tapping beat. Good vocals in this one, but for me this song doesnt really stick out on the album. Not a bad song, just not one that shines.

"The Rules" - I like the message this song brings, People don't realize their stupidity and cruelty, and people like that need to go away. Although the band doesn't sugar coat it like that...:
" Breaking all the rules
Rising of the fools
I just wanna see them hanging"
It's a bit morbid. But it is a "gothic metal" band, so i guess it's expected to some degree.

"Bleeding" - This is a great song, on the verge of being a ballad, the chorus is strong but the verses are soft.

"Walk Away" - This song is probably the "hardest" song on the album. Great guitar riffs open the song and give the rest of the song great depth. The verses talk about how people just want to bring you down and "throw you in the dark sea's bottom". But the chorus is empowering and talks about standing up and being the better person and walking away from fights that have no true winner, even if it makes you look weak in their eyes. This song definately shines on the album.

"Loss" - Good, powerful song. It talks about wanting to forget a past relationship that you want to forget, but seem to be powerless against the memrories of it. This is probably the most "pop" sounding track on the album, I could see an artist such as P!nk doing a cover of it.

"Far From The Edge" - The second and last ballad of the album. This is another song that gets lost in the album for me. There isn't much that makes the song stick out on the album. It's not a bad song, there's just not much special about it.

"Erase Me" - The final track on the album. This song starts with an "interview" of sorts, setting a tone for the song. This song brings me images of a sad and lonesome individual with a bleak outlook on life.
"All I do is breathing in.
All I do is breathing out."
A good song to end the "metal opera", if you will.

All in all this is a great, solid album. I see great things to come from Elysion. For this being the debut release of the band, it is very well polished.

I give this album a 8.5 out of 10.