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Band: Elyose
Album title: Reconnexion
Release date: 27 September 2018
Label: Self-Released
Tracklist:
01. Un autre été
02. Psychosis
03. De tout là-haut
04. Asymétrie
05. Folle alliée
06. Mes 100 ciels
07. À cœur perdant
08. La veuve noire
09. Les mots qui me viennent
10. Contretemps (acoustic)
The beautiful singer Justine Daaé and her boys are back with a new album! This time the band which released their previous album, Ipso Facto, in June 2015, offers their most elaborated and strong work to date. For those who don't know the band yet, Elyose are from Paris and were formed in 2009 by bassist Ghislain Henry and before mentioned Justine. The band since then released one demo EP and two full-length albums, Reconnexion is their third one. Elyose are labeled as nu-industrial metal, but to be truthful their music is an eclectic mix of many styles. In the first place this is modern metal with a strong feminine touch, but you can't miss additions from industrial metal, a lot of electronics, gothic and symphonic metal parts and yes, several escapades into nu-metal. Nevertheless, Elyose are professional and very talented musicians who know how to make this particles cohesive and intriguing enough to offer a proper sonic roller coaster.
On Reconnexion the band managed to make their sound more groovy, heavy and powerful than ever before. It's very dense and rich, constantly dynamic and captivating enough to keep you interested from start to finish. Even though that the band uses a lot of electronic samples and keys to enrich their sound, now everything seems to have a bit more emphasis on metal. The main characteristics of Elyose's music must be the powerful and emotive enough voice of Justine, who is classical trained vocalist and she is not afraid to show this on many locations, then the often turbulent but technically perfect rhythmic line, great guitar job, let it be for various leads and rhythmic lines, and of course the explicit use of various artificial sounds. On this album the band got some guest musicians like is Mark Jansen (Epica/Mayan) on the intense dark/gothic/industrial metal track "Psychosis", where the band explores also the waters of something that could be easily classified as extreme symphonic metal, and Raf Pener (T.A.N.K.) on the catchy pop/nu-industrial track named “Mes 100 ciels”.
The band improved greatly the use of harsh vocals and other more extreme elements if compared to their previous album, the only thing that I don't like on this album is that they try to insert into their sonic picture too many nu-metal elements, but thankfully those are somehow quite well thrown into this amalgam of sounds. On the other hand I appreciate a lot use of cinematic elements, like for example in "Asymétrie". There are many addictive refrains that will get stuck in your head for a long time. So, from the upbeat dark gothic/industrial opener "Un autre été", to the captivating "De tout là-haut", until the closing one, the acoustic version of the song which appeared on Ipso Facto album, "Contretemps", Elyose offers a lot for those who in the first place like bands such as Amaranthe, Epica, Mayan, Lacuna Coil, Evanescence, The Birthday Massacre, Otep and similar acts.
In the end I can only say that Elyose have made a good modern metal album with enough in your face thrown metal, and if in the past they were more like electro-metal oriented band, now they show up as a more of a metal band enhanced with solid keyboards. The production is top notch, powerful and clean enough to enjoy in every single detail. I don't mind if the band uses French lyrics (except in the song "Psychosis"), this makes everything even more unique. The thing that I don't understand is why none of big labels hasn't signed this band yet, as Elyose are in my opinion one the most interesting bands right now in the female fronted modern metal scene. Reconnexion is that sort of an album that could be a decisive one in their career, it's an album that could appeal to many different listeners, and it has some potential hits with a high replay value.
Review written by: T.V.
Rating: 8/10
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