WAVERLY LIES NORTH – A Soul in the Void review

 

WAVERLY LIES NORTH – A Soul in the Void

Brennus Music

http://www.waverlyliesnorth.com/

WAVERLY LIES NORTH is a new band hailing from France. The band was formed in 2012 and from the research I did, it seems that they released “A Soul in the Void” in 2013 with a different cover and now they re-release it. I don’t know the reasons why they did that, but I will try to find out in the interview that I will do.  

THE COVER: The cover of the album is beautiful and it could easily be a cover for a ghost story book or a movie. It shows a corridor and a ghostly woman in front of a window illuminated by the full moon. In my opinion is a cover that gives you strong hints for the musical atmosphere of this album.

MUSICAL STYLE: The band characterizes its style as symphonic metal. They are right and yet this characterization doesn’t give the full image of their musical style. The band actually moves between the symphonic, progressive and power metal sound. The element that makes them distinguishable is the theatrical touch all their songs have and the different emotions they express. They didn’t remind me of any band in specific, but I think they are closer to groups such as late KAMELOT, EPICA and EVERGREY. 

COMPOSITIONS: The album includes 9 compositions and most of them have a structure that is almost progressive. They balance between melodies and modern grooves in the vein that EVERGREY use them. Also in some of them they use female vocals too and this is something that enhances the theatrical element of their sound. The compositions have a variety of emotions that range from melancholy to rage and all the emotions in between. The songs that are included here are quite complicated and I think that the more you listen to them the more new elements you will discover. The quality of the songs is good, but for me the one that stands out above all is the track with the title “Aria Nocturna”.  

CONCLUSION: I am not an expert on the symphonic/progressive metal sound, but in their debut album WAVERLY LIES NORTH present to us compositions that are characterized by maturity, inspiration and they have an identity. This is an album that I can surely recommend to fans of symphonic and modern progressive power metal.

Nick “Verkaim” Parastatidis