ELEINE
We Shall Remain
Atomic Fire
Swedish metal outfit ELEINE is a prime example of the excellence that comes from the Scandinavian Peninsula and their latest album is no exception to that rule. We Shall Remain is a dance with the dark and vocalist Madeleine Liljestam is fast rising as one of the best female metal voices performing in the genre.
ELEINE was formed in 2014 and is best known for their dark symphonic metal sound that has been integrated with influences from black metal, death metal and thrash metal. The band has released four studio albums, with We Shall Remain being the most recent. They have also toured internationally with bands like MOONSPELL and ARCH ENEMY, as well as being a staple on the European festival circuit.
In 2020 the band received laudable recognition with their album Dancing In Hell and it was a fast paced and heavy platter of death tinged power metal and that style has carried over into this new album. Where that album stopped is where the new offering picks up and it is a scorcher. There is also the element of growth in the band as they tackle new topics and styles and this is something that bodes well for the band.
The album was written and produced by guitarist/vocalist Rikard Ekberg and lead vocalist b>Madeleine Liljestam, with co-recording, mixing, and mastering by Thomas "Plec" Johansson at The Panic Room Studio in Skovde, Sweden. The album's artwork was designed by Nestor Avalos and Madeleine Liljestam.
The band's first single and video from the album, "We Are Legion" sets the pace for this record and is very well done. It is haunting, foreboding and tense, which is exactly what band seems to be going for. The followed with a video for the album's title track shortly thereafter and it has done very well based on it viewed in excess of a million times.
While clean vocals are handled by Lijestam, Ekberg takes over on the guttural voice. Also in the band are drummer Jesper Sunnhagen, and bassist Filip Stalberg. They are a powerhouse team and the albums starts off in fine form with "Never Forget" and moves easily into tunes like "Stand By The Flame". It is a mix reminiscent of classic European power metal and traditional blackened death metal and it works very well for this band.
A female fronted band in this era of metal has always got to throw in something a bit symphonic and the band does this with "Promise Of Apocalypse" and the song has a feeling of foreboding before moving into the speedy pace of "Blood In Their Eyes", as well as an instrumental offering called "Vemod".
Dual vocals between Lijestam and Ekberg is explosive on "Through The Mist", and caries into the last two songs, "War Das Alles" and the title-track. The band appears to be experimenting with other styles with the last two songs. The musical offerings just in their home country lends an air of black metal or death metal to their work and you hear this coming through in their delivery. More bands are starting to incorporate these atmospheric qualities into their work and this band does it well. If you have the opportunity to see the band live I would advise you to go. In the meantime, listen to this album and their past catalog. You won't be disappointed.
5.0 Out Of 5.0
