Lyriel – Paranoid Circus

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Having recently signed with AFM Records, Lyriel bring in 2011 by seeing the re-release of last year’s Paranoid Circus. Lyriel’s music is gentle, mellow female-fronted rock with very strong folk leanings. The music is heavily characterized by the band’s singer, Jessica Thierjung, whose delivery is very clear and soft. Fans of big operatic singers such as Tarja Tarunen or Vibeke Stene are probably going to find themselves disappointed here – Jessica is much more in line with other folk-influenced metal singers, such as ex-Xandria singer Lisa Middelhauve or Liv Kristine, only with less flare. That’s really the problem here; whilst Lyriel aren’t bad, there is the nagging feeling that others – such as Xandria and Leaves’ Eyes – have done this much better. Lyriel on the other hand feel incredibly placid, light to the point of coming across as terribly cloy. This is perhaps down to production – the rhythm feels somewhat static, the guitars uninteresting and the extra instruments do not have enough time to resonate with the listener. There’s often use of very modern production techniques that don’t gel with the band’s folk influences, such as synthesised beats and drum loops, of all things. It’s also inescapable that Jessica’s tone is perhaps too sweet and too soft for heavier music, so her being the focal point creates this kind of result. There are moments where the band ups the amplification for heavier moments such as The Regret and The Wolf, but these come across as arbitrary attempts to appeal to potential metal listeners. Otherwise, it falls slightly flat. To Lyriel’s credit though, they aren’t bad as song-writers and can write well (opener Welcome is horribly infectious), though they do still pale when compared to their peers such as Xandria, making for something of a lose/lose situation. Ultimately it feels like what this band want is for this album to strike it’s listener as the kind of warm, cosy female-fronted folk metal album to while away the winter hours to; but instead it feels just too hollow to really make such an album work. The outcome is an album of nice and sometimes very catchy pop songs that lean towards folk melodies and rock, sometimes metal guitars. That’ll be enough for some female-fronted rock fans, but other folk and metal fans might find themselves being much more discerning.

Written by James Donovan
More: 2010, Albums, Female-fronted, Hard Rock, Quick.Play Reviews, Lyriel