INFOS : webzine@femmemetalwebzine.net
Webzine dedicated to the metal band fronted by girls. We also like ambient,darkwave,rock & electronic music.
INFOS : webzine@femmemetalwebzine.net
Webzine dedicated to the metal band fronted by girls. We also like ambient,darkwave,rock & electronic music.
From Canada to Ukraine, with this virtual travel we do a step back in Europe with the Rivne based Death/Funeral metal band Amilyband that debuts on Solitude Productions with the album “To All in Graves”. Our dear Vard Aman took the chance to review it and seems that he quite enjoyed this release insomuch as to rate it 90 out of 100. The main singer is the growler Growllemin Amor but on only one song, “Fading Image of My Own”, features the enchanting female vocals of Amatielle. In conclusion, if you love Death/Funeral metal you MUST check out this release. Read more @ (via Amily – “To All in Graves” (2012) « Femme Metal Webzine)
As promised the last night, well no one guessed who was the Slovakian band’s interview that I was going to publish : well, that’s it - GALADRIEL singer Sona Witch Kozakova gladly spoke with us about the last album “The 7th Queen Entroned” and more bands project. About the early times when the band have had to promote themselves the debut “Empire of Emptiness” Sona says : “On one hand Internet has changed everything […]We used the classic mail way to spread our music to magazines. We used the classic mail way to answer to letters of fans and answer the interviews.” Check out more what Sona has replied to Andy @ (via Interview : Sona Witch Kozakova – Galadriel « Femme Metal Webzine)
Outside is dark and comes the time to listen to something more relaxed and calm, so it’s with pleasure that I present again the debut album “Septembre Et Ses Dérnieres Pensée” by the French LES DISCRETS that was published in 2010 by Prophecy Productions. For the lovers of the shoegaze and Alcest. Recommeded.
Label : Poets Labyrinth Productions
Review by Tony Cannella
Even though Christmas just passed, it is never too late for some quality holiday music. That brings us to the new single by Pennsylvania based singer/songwriter Tiffany Apan in collaboration with Chuck Owston as they present their version of the 16th century English Folk classic “Greensleeves”. I have to admit that I have always loved this song and found it deeply moving; it always seems to lend itself well to a rock setting or classical backdrop. The version that Tiffany Apan and Chuck Owston has presented us with is a more traditional, mournful rendition of the song. Right off-the-bat, Tiffany Apan has a phenomenal classically trained voice as she is accompanied by Chuck Owston on mandolins. “Greensleeves” is a perfect treat for the holiday season, but it is not just Christmas music.This is a timeless classic that Tiffany Apan and Chuck Owston has injected their heart and soul into and should be enjoyed year ‘round.
Rating - 85/100
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Interview by Si Smith
The years is 1891. The Gentleman’s Club known as A Forest of Stars are re-releasing their two full-lengths this year, along with juicy extras for those already initiated into the Company. For those unacquainted with their speciality, they represent the Aristocratic England of the past; a society of gentlemen (and a lady) who describe themselves as “a bunch of inebriated, soporific wastrels” who have managed to create musical vistas of progressive black metal through the general haze of Victorian alcohol and cigar smoke. Femme Metal met in secret with Katheryne, Queen of the Ghosts, to dish the dirt on the boys’ antics.
Kati, thanks so much for meeting with us in this secret location. A warm welcome from all at Femme Metal. Firstly, congratulations for infiltrating the Gentleman’s Club - how did you do it, and what is it REALLY like in there?
The length of each track varies from 8 to 16 minutes in length. It is clear that a listener will be taken on a journey, that the tracks are all dynamically heading somewhere. Is it difficult trying to fill all that time with music and vocals? Or does it just come naturally to the guys to compose long songs?
I think its actually more difficult trying to shorten the songs enough to fit onto the album! We all have a lot of ideas about how the songs should develop so that they grow and have momentum and sometimes I think we get a bit carried away!Links
Label : Metal Mind Productions
Review by Tony Cannella
If you like old school 70s style Prog Rock – I’m not even talking about the bands that are considered Progressive Metal – I mean real, pure prog rock, then look no further than Poland’s Travellers. The band was formed way back in 2011, by keyboardist/percussionist Wojtek Szadowski who had previously been in the bands Collage, Satellite and Strawberry Fields. In addition to the obvious Prog Rock leanings, Travellers also incorporate such varied influences as 80s and Ethnic music to capture a certain vibe, when called upon to do so. In classic Prog fashion, “A Journey Into the Sun Within” includes only 6-songs, yet features a playing time of almost 53-minutes, this is thanks to the length of some of the songs. The longest song “The Sun” clocks in at over 12-minutes long, whilst some of the other songs fall in the 7-8 minute range. I love Prog Rock as much as the next person but even I realize that sometimes bands who play this style can get boring, that is a problem that Travellers don’t have to worry about with their debut “A Journey into the Sun Within” as the band delivers a cocktail of first rate musicianship, great vocals courtesy of Robin and excellent songs. Starting with eerie keyboard intro to the 11-minute opener “Magic”, Travellers set the table with a majestic opening tune. The over 8-minute “Letters to God” is next and in my opinion has an excellent 70s prog rock vibe to it and has tons of atmosphere, as well. The third track “Dreaming” clocks in at 5-minutes and Is the shortest song here. This is actually one the slower songs that appears here and has a pretty cool mainstream style going for it. “I Dream Softly” is next and it takes a little while to get going, but once it does it settles into a nice, dreamy vibe before the tempo speeds up and makes this one of the highlights for me. The tempo changes on this one are well done. The closing duo of “I See the Light” and “The Sun” brings “A Journey into the Sun Within” to a strong conclusion. The appeal of Travellers is going to be selective, like most prog rock, you will either love it or you won’t. That’s okay because I have a feeling that fans of Progressive music will flock to this band and their debut album “A Journey into the Sun Within”.
Rating - 78/100
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Label : Grailight Productions
Review by Vard Aman
In Russian: Артания – “Ночь Оденет Тебе Свой Венец” (“Noch Odenet Tebe Svoy Venets”). Formed in 2007, Artania hail from Voronezh in Russia (about 450km South of Moscow) and “Night Shall Crown Ye” is their debut offering. They play some highly accomplished melodic Symphonic Black Metal with all of the right ingredients for fans of this genre to enjoy, and enjoy a lot. Artania are very good at what they do but the originality is somewhat lacking. With this album they seem to have chosen to excel at the tried-and-tested rather than to take the ingredients, mix them up a little and create something new or at least somewhat different. The album is generally well produced and the songwriting and performance are of a very high standard. The guitar work is the stand out feature on the album throughout – intricate, melodic and heavy; perfect for this genre of music. The symphonic elements back up the guitar work well, without ever becoming dominant (this could be a good or bad thing depending on your personal tastes). The drums have suffered a bit in the mix however – they sometimes tend to sound a little ‘typewriter-esque’ in places, especially during some of the blast beats, although not nearly as bad as the ‘typewriter-esque’ drum sound on Cradle of Filth’s “Cruelty and the Beast”. Fortunately the problem is relatively mild, so it does not detract too much from the overall quality of the album, nor from the quality of the drumming which is really good. The lyrics are all in Russian and cover such topics as the works of Aleister Crowley; the prophecies of Nostradamus; Countess Bathory; etc. The tracks are all in fairly similar vein and/so there are no weak songs on the album but there are a few that do stand out from the others: for me they are “Mysteries of the Order of Priorate Zion”; “Liturgy in Black Colours”; and most notably, “Fogs of Witches’ Heath”. The vocals, handled mostly by Vadim (aka “Vad Kaiphas”) are as they should be for this kind of music with plenty of high and low pitched growls. They’re very effective and well delivered, but never really stray into the realm of the demonically awesome (but that may well still come). Backing vocals are provided by the keyboardist Elena (aka “Bathory”), and here is where I think Artania have missed a trick or two. Elena performs a few spoken word passages, some really good soprano vocals (she has a beautiful clear voice) and also possesses a harsh, cold, evil scream which she delivers most prominently on the final track “Secrets of the Moon” but better on “Fogs of Witches’ Heath”. Elena has been severely underutilized on this album! Had her vocal talents been used more extensively, they would have added a really dynamic (and evil in the case of her scream) extra dimension to the music and to the sound of the band – something that would have made Artania really stand out from many of the rest of the bands in this genre. There is a hint of what I mean in “Fogs of Witches’ Heath” where in places the dual vocals create a considerably more intense atmosphere, as opposed to the standard solo, or dual male vocal growls. Hopefully, Artania will realize the potential of what they have at their disposal in time for their next album, and if they do while continuing to develop on what they have done here on their debut, it should to be a mouth watering cracker of a prospect indeed! “Night Shall Crown Ye” is a good melodic Sympho-Black album and is a must have for any fan of this genre. Don’t expect something new, but expect something good. This is a very competent debut from a very competent band, and they have displayed the potential to grow and to rise above the rest of the genre in the future. Artania – you’d do well to keep an eye open for this name!
Rating - 79/100
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Label : Metal Mind Productions
Review by Tony Cannella
Poland’s NeraNature is the new Gothic Rock project featuring Darzamat front lady Nera. Coming off the heels the 2-song sampler, “Foresting Wounds” is the full-length debut of this new musical endeavor, and what a debut it is. The dramatic opener “Shattered” gets things started and Nera’s wonderful vocal talents takes the charge. The following songs “Precious Now” and “The World Is Not Enough” (a cool cover of the song from the band Garbage) are next and two more solid tracks. Musically, the band is quite an excellent compliment to Nera’s vocal style. Other highlights include: “Woman’s Soul”, “Oblivion”, “Broken” and “Someone”. While – at times – not strictly a metal album, “Foresting Wounds” is just an excellently crafted debut from Nera and her band. While the two song sampler was in itself, quite impressive I was not prepared for the sheer power and consistency that “Foresting Wounds” would provide and NeraNature would be capable of.
Rating - 93/100
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Label : Alien Productions
Review by Luisa Mercier
From France, another little masterpiece of gothic-doom has landed on my desk. Evolvent’s “Spiritual Confession” was released back in 2008 and soon it obtained a very good response from media, they even released a video for the title-track in 2009. On the present album, the female singer is Céline de Kerliviou, but in the meanwhile Johanna Manto replaced her. “The Canticle of the Shade” which opens the EP is a painful hymn of agony: the guitars flow with their doomish pace while keyboards and synth paint a gloomy landscape. On top of them, male aggressive vocals entertwine with sweet, angelic female vocals. Strings, keyboards and the usual tuned-down guitars introduce “Engraved on the Tomb”. Towards the half Céline appears and the track clearly recalled me Draconian early releases and their majestic, solemn atmosphere. Definitely more doom than gothic is “My Mystic Storm” where Céline amazes us all with a magnificent solo perfotmance towards the end of the track. Perfect song for grey, gloomy wheather outside. The title-track is quite short, but really moving. Relying more on a neoclassical style, it is a sort of interlude in which Céline sings in a very operatic way. Fascinating and enchanting, really. Last track is a 15-minutes song, “The March of Death”, goes back to gothic-doom. It ranges from more metal to more atmospheric moments, but I have to say that there is not a great variety, even though being so long. The piano outro is sweet and calming. Really, a treasure most doomsters don’t want to lose!
Rating - 75/100
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