CHALICE
Chronicles of Dysphoria
(Modern Invasion)
I didn't receive a promo of this album, but it was just
so good I wanted to review it anyway. Calling Australia home, this
quartet makes a truly enchanting brand of ethereal doom metal. With
a sound that blends heavy riffs with folk melodies, violin, and keyboards,
Chalice tread familiar territory yet give it a whole new spin, creating
some incredibly memorable tunes in the process.
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Opener "Solitary Waves" is a great example of Chalice's
style. Starting with a beautiful piano melody, the violin and drums
creep in, followed by Shiralee's incredibly sweet vocals. This woman
has an incredible voice and is apparently the key songwriter in the band
and it shows, with her vocal lines blending seamlessly with the rest of
the instrumentation. She has quite the range, as well, hitting some
amazing high notes from time to time. Many of the tracks have a
very romantic, medieval folk flavor, giving a nod towards Rainbow as much
as their more modern gothic/doom brethren. "The Amber Twilight"
for example is an incredible delight, where the listener can focus on
the vocal melody, the guitar riffs or the violin and be equally enthralled
with each.
People will likely want to draw comparisons to bands like
3rd and the Mortal and The Gathering, but Chalice really do stand apart
from the crowd with their own sound. There is a stronger sense of
classical melody in Chalice's sound and Shiralee's voice is in a league
of its own, at once delicate and incredibly substantial.
Finding fault with this album is tough. The songs
are all pretty lengthy, but they sound complete rather than long.
The recording is crisp and clear and the performances are stellar, both
from a technical and an emotional stance. I will be amazed if someone
doesn't pick this disc up for a Stateside release soon - one of the best
debuts I've heard in ages and one of the best albums of 2000, hands down.
More info: http://www.thechaliceroadie.cjb.net/
[Daniel Hinds]
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