Lorelei - Угрюмые Волны Студеного Моря (Gloomy Waves of the Cold Sea) (CD)

Review
Chronicles of Chaos
7.5/10
02.03.2014

This one would have been dismissed too quickly had I not encountered some pretty positive responses towards this album, mentioning it as a really cool gothic metal album without falling into the gothic metal clichés, or in other words: gothic metal for those who dislike gothic metal. I had to give it a try.
Lorelei's _Ugrjumye Volny Studenogo Morja_ (my broken Russian tells me it has something to do with waves and an ocean, as I couldn't find any proper English translation) does not veer so far off that it couldn't be dubbed as typical gothic-oriented melodic doom/death metal album, almost generic in presentation and songwriting, yet a tad different in execution -- or more accurately, in the orchestration or the choice of instruments (if you regard the human voice as a musical instrument par excellence, indivisible from the rest); and that difference, manifesting itself through the well-thought tunes -- as minute as it may be -- is all the difference I need in order to render this album as time well spent, as well as being a worthy addition to my collection as an artifact of musical excellence.

Lorelei's debut is by no means a herald of a new musical direction in gothic metal, although it sets some new standards within this doom/death niche. This very album could have passed as nothing more than a decent ultra melodic doom/death metal album of the romantic kind; well played and well produced, indeed, but still, rather unspectacular. It could have settled for the usual classic rock combination of guitars-bass-drums and a male growler and still it would have sounded pretty rich and engaging, although not far removed from the plethora of (typical) bands of the 'Russian doom boom' we have all been accustomed to, courtesy of Solitude Productions and its numerous satellite sub-labels.

However, Lorelei have decided to incorporate into the recording a genuine opera singer by the name of Ksenia Michaelova, and this fragile-looking figure makes all the difference in the world between mediocrity and sublime transcendence. Her strong, vivid, robust, melancholic soprano vocals -- their scope and power in stark opposition to the frail and delicate-looking woman who creates them -- are among the best vocal expressions metal music has had the honor of exploiting. It may sound cheesy, I know, and pedestrian, but I'll tell you what it is most certainly not: cheesy and pedestrian. Her vocals, the true wonder of the recording, make the music a soaring and vital entity of beauty and pulsating sadness, enabling the album to quantum-leap from redundancy to total wonder and awe.

Not since Penumbra's _The Last Bewitchment_ have I encountered such a potent and accomplished gothic metal beauty; not because I have cast a complete veto on this form of art, but simply because there aren't many godly expressions of what is known as gothic metal out there. Case in point: I can't really relate to any of Solitude Production's gothic-tinged doom/death metal albums of the passing few years -- just can't, and not that I haven't tried...

_Ugrjumye Volny Studenogo Morja_ is one of those albums that beg further exploration, deleting all cynicism and scorn when they are thoroughly studied. Sweeping, larger-than-life tunes that are on par with the beauty of the soprano singer's massive voice, played perfectly and with much zest and color, and two very capable vocalists -- the bestial growler and the angelic nymph -- make this album a perfect 'beauty and the beast' sonic dichotomy of the utmost higher order.

This album is art in the making, unfolding right in front of your ears and your gaping mouth, while in the process your jaw will slowly drop in disbelief that you're actually liking this release as much as you do...

Author: Chaim Drishner

Review
Ave Noctum
7/10
10.12.2013

‘Угрюмые волны студёного моря’ is the first full-length album from the 10 year old Russian band Lorelei. They label themselves as gothic doom death metal and it’s a fair descriptor as the keyboard laden songs have a heavy but very slow guitar base to go with awesome death growls and stupendous soprano. First off excuse any misspelling that shall take place below, everything on their site is in Russian/Cyrillic and my Russian is a little rusty, read non-existent. All the lyrics are in Russian too, so it’s just a case of aural pleasure rather than cerebral too. With this in mind I’ve used the Latin alphabet for the song names, as they’re slightly easier to read that way, even though my understanding is little improved.

The opening “Intro” is just that, two minutes of thunderstorm and crashing waves morphing into gently picked guitars. Then as “Holod Bezmolvnogo Zimnego Lesa…” starts Alexandr Grischenko’s bass and Marina Ignatovich’s keyboards quietly join the mix as do some pretty heavy death vocals by E.S. (guest vocalist from Who Dies In Siberian Slush). During slow interlude there are some spoken vocals, which I understand, as they are in Italian and upon further reading I discover that the album is inspired by the poetry Francesco Petrarca, one of the founders of the Italian language as spoken now, along with the art of Renaissance and Romanticism from that epoch.

Ksenia “Serafima” Mikhaylova’s vocals are a lush soprano over the contrasting death vocals on “Ten’ju Bezlikoj…” as the guitars of Andrey Osokin and Alexey Ignatovich drive along slowly accompanied by Marina’s keyboards. With the keyboards taking on a dominant presence for “Ugrjumye Volny Studenogo Morja…” as they weave an intricate pattern under the vocals.

“La Vita Fugge, Et Non S’arresta Una Hora…” is a beautiful operatic piece of Petrarca’s poem sung by Ksenia with only a piano for accompaniment. The notes she reaches are stupendous and a feat themself.

The morose melodies played so slowly on the guitars “Ne Vedaja Temnyh Predelov Pechali…” allow guest drummer Vladimir “Vile” Lyashkov (Decay Of Reality and Beheaded Zombie) to thump the kit vigorously without any need for an elevated pace keeping the doomy quality of the music, whereas on “Holodnyj Prizrachnyj Rassvet…” the pace is a little quicker and the snare pounding a touch snappier. E.S.’s vocals are also far more guttural and work well with Alexey Ignatovich’s spoken and Ksenia’s soprano as he sustains the growls.

The doom death they play is flawless and in “Raj Poterjan…” they let it build slowly and it’s the first time you hear “Vile” doing any double kick work as until this point it hasn’t really been required owing to the fact that their heaviness comes from the execution rather than the speed they play.

The “Outro” is piano and the soothing sounds of the waves washing you back out to the frozen Arctic Ocean.

So if you’re after something melancholy but soothingly heavy at the same time, but don’t care an iota whether you can understand a word that’s said… Then you should check them out. Actually just check them out and make up your own mind.

Author: Marco Gaminara

Review
R.U.M. Zine

Na ruské kapely mám v poslední době velké štěstí, no zásobují mě nahrávkami opravdu poctivě. Přiznám se, že o kapele LORELEI jsem doposud nikdy neslyšel, vždyť se také jedná o debutové album, jehož obchodní zacílení se evidentně týká především domácího trhu. Romanticky laděný booklet je pouze v azbuce a taktéž jména hlavních protagonistům nejsou nikterak čitelná, hold hodiny povinné ruštiny mě minuly o jeden školní rok.

Jak jsou ovšem LORELEI čistě východní záležitostí, je zřejmé, že se jejich hudba bude na ruské frontě těšit nebývalému zájmu. Domnívám se, že toho, čeho jsou středoevropané dávno přesyceni, tak to je ve velkém Rusku stále ještě velebeno, ovšem nepřičítal bych to ani tak zpomalené hudební evoluci, ale spíše přísloví „jiná země – jiný mrav“. A doom metalu se zkrátka v olympijské zemi daří a zvláště pak tomu výsostně uměleckému. V hudbě LORELEI jakoby se probouzela všechna velká díla slavných literátů a hudebních skladatelů, nemluvě o bájích a legendách všeho druhu. LORELEI na těchto národních přednostech staví naprosto nezakrytě a i z toho důvodu je hudba tělesa pro domácí obecenstvo určitě přitažlivá, neboť i textová stránka patří k nezastupitelným faktorům kolekce.

Žánrově se LORELEI pohybují na tradiční death-doomové vlně ve stylu raných THEATRE OF TRAGEDY, přičemž nechybí ani prvky spadajícího do gothicrockového ranku. Z komplexního hlediska je však hudba spíše hrubší, valivější, obklopuje ji brutální pěvecký growling, pravidelně doplňovaný vysoko posazeným sopránem děvuchy jménem Ksenia, která pravděpodobně pochází z úplně jiného hudebního světa. Jednotlivé kompozice jsou povětšinou poskládány z chytlavých a nebývale úderných riffů, mezi kterými proplouvají táhle kytarové melodie, žel nikterak zázračně osobité – přestože lze v tomto žánru vymyslet něco opravdu neslyšeného. Velmi příjemně naopak působí vyhrávky klavíru, které tu a tam rozčeří válku mezi „dobrem a zlem“, zkrátka přesně tak, jak to u klasických nositelů žánru bývá.

„Ugrjumye Volny Studenogo Morja“ rozhodně není nahrávka, jež by měla způsobit nějakou zásadní revoluci v metalovém undergroundu. Strnule, leč velmi přesvědčivě se drží standatních doom-gothických otěž a směrodatným ukazatelem jedinečnosti budiž onen národní punc, který z jednotlivých kompozic sálá. Jak už jsem výše uvedl, z mé strany nepředvádí kapela nic extra nového či zásadního, ovšem když si odmyslím všechny potřebné nutnosti, o kterých je zkrátka povinnost psát, musím uznat, že se tenhle počin docela příjemně poslouchá. Pokud jsou mezi vámi milovníci již výše uvedených THEATRE OF TRAGEDY, MACBETH či FLOWING TEARS, vězte, že ani LORELEI vás jednoduše nemohou zklamat. To, co dělají, dělají zkrátka dobře. Je jen otázkou, jestli to v budoucnu bude stačit na něco víc…

Review
Scream Magazine
3/5

Fra Russland kommer Lorelei, med death vokal så mørk at Cannibal Corpse fremstår som sølvguttene i forhold. Stilmessig er dette heldigvis en hel del roligere, nesten Anathema/My Dying Bride-aktig, med melodiøse og melankolske gitarpartier, som også er bandets styrke. Den kvinnelige operavokalen som er deathvokalens motpol er bare slitsom, dessverre. Veldig synd, for Lorelei høres faktisk ut som om de er inne på noe her. Bandet hadde fungert bedre med kun death vokal. Låtene er det egentlig ingenting å si på. Det er mørkt og trist, og av og til rett og slett vakkert. Lyden av hav og vind spiller en nøkkelrolle i bandets sound, og det fungerer utmerket.

Author: Hans Mikael Ødegaard

Review
Funeral Wedding
4/5

Há quase 20 anos passam pelo mundo, bandas do chamado Gothic/Doom, muitas delas hoje já foram esquecidas e algumas ainda se mantém firmes e fortes, e influenciando as novas que vêm surgindo e renovando o estilo.

Veja o caso dessa banda, formada há 10 anos atrás, debutaram com sua demo somente em 2007, um EP em 2007 e somente ano passado (2013) que estrearam com um full-lenght intitulado: “Угрюмые Волны Студеного Моря”. Isso mesmo, é cantado em sua lingua natal.

Já nos primeiros acordes de “Холод Безмолвного Зимнего Леса…”, sentimos uma forte influência de Draconian em sua sonoridade. E isso não é visto de forma ruim, pois como não entendemos nada do que está escrito, nos atentamos a melodia e o que nos passa é uma sensação agradável.

Na sequência temos “Тенью Безликой…”, com uma bela atmosfera criada pelos teclados, temos o vocal cavernoso de Alexey Ignatovich e seu contraponto, os belos vocais líricos de Ksenia “Serafima” Mikhaylova. Vale ressaltar que os vocais da donzela são mais operísticos do que a maioria dos vocais que têm surgidos nas bandas recentemente.

“La Vita Fugge, Et Non S’arresta Una Hora…” é um interlúdio operístico sofrido, que serve de introdução para a bela “Ne Vedaja Temnyh Predelov Pechali…”. Esta última é uma das melhores canções do álbum. Repleta de melodias, com destaque ao trabalho excepcional das linhas de guitarra de Andrey Osokin e o peso da base de Alexey Ignatovich.

Outros destaques para o disco vão para: “Угрюмые Волны Студеного Моря…” e “Рай Потерян…”

Vale ressaltar que, segundo o press-release, a temática da banda é inspirada pelo renascentismo e o romanticismo, em particular pelas poesias de Francesco Petrarca. Se você é fã dessa vertente do Doom Metal, pode ir já comprar a sua cópia, pois não irá se arrepender.

Segue abaixo o tracklist “traduzido”.