Let's get right to the metal.
I have been really bad with this following release, hoarding it and not sharing like some paranoid miscreant. Then again, it is the new Therion (Les Fleurs du Mal) and that means something special. Not wishing to be in a rut, the band have tried something new. Much of it is in French, quite a bit of bawdy and oh so pleasurable. "Initials BB" is worth the price of admission alone. No need to understand French to get the gist. Think a musical interpretation of an Emmanuelle movie. Just because it is called Les Fleurs du Mal and based on a volume of French poetry by Charles Baudelaire doesn't mean it has to be turgid pap. It is an album that should be played in its entirety live for certain.
Another album that I have been enjoying is the new Kamelot. Silverthorn is really rather good, but I am yet to determine whether or not it is their best to date. It is as beautiful and passionate as some of their best, but nothing that jumps out at you like their song "Haunted". Yet again, I am moved to say if Lloyd-Webber and Tim Rice had a metal band it would sound like this. "Song for Jolee" is an epic and soaring ballad. There are people who loath this band for their pompous symphonic metal and their reasons are exactly the reason I can't get enough.
Ashes You Leave are a band who I don't recognize. Despite my ignorance there is no denying The Cure for Happiness is goth prog metal at its finest. The metal flute on “The Ever Changing” would make Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson proud. Their female lead singer drags you into their world and firmly keeps you entranced. The Cure for Happiness doesn't necessarily have that instant catchy factor but a bit of patience is rewarded quite nicely. Well worth the effort and a welcome addition to the genre.
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