text: Vocally this is quite frankly dizzying. The challenge with having so many vocal contributors involved is it’s sometime hard to tell where vocalist Daniele Barbarossa ends and the rest of the choir begins, although with every vocal style from soprano to Metal Growl represented, the net effect is like the Metal Opera delivery of the original Avantasia album – only with bursts of operatic Italian. It’s going to be a bitch to play live too. Nothing sums up the achievement of this album more than the epic finale ‘The Amazing Toymaker’, which takes every musical extreme this album has thrown to date back at you in a whopping seventeen-minute epic of staggering proportions, which lyrically may be the maddest thing I have ever heard, and does sound like someone has also been listening to Avatar’s “Black Waltz” album recently as well…
  The challenge this album has is that whilst musically and vocally dizzying, it sometimes lacks the immediacy of the more commercially orientated acts. Avantasia may not be for everyone, but Tobias Sammet knows how to leverage the fan base of his array of contributors and achieve the ‘everyman’ broad appeal, no matter how avant garde he gets, whereas as a relative newcomer and no likelihood of being able to bring the full musical ensemble on tour Winterage, have a much bigger uphill struggle on their hands. Everyman is an important word and to appeal to a wider audience you need a song to reach into more commercial territory and this album does not have one. Completely bonkers, but an incredible piece of work, nonetheless.
  Italy has been quite unique in the Metal world in recent years. The biggest contributions to the scene have definitely come from the Symphonic and uniquely Operatic work of the extended Rhapsody family of bands (which is what I refer to the four or five key acts who have at one time or another shared one or more principle members), so it’s nice to hear a new band that although clearly influenced by that movement, is not actually part of the extended family of musicians at its centre.
  ‘Death’s Cold Lifeless Sound’ at nine minutes and thirteen seconds takes a long time to get going, and as the opening track of the album is not as immediately engaging as it should have been. It rambles somewhat, and needs a little more structure but oh my, when Rayan Resuli and Mattia Rodella open up with that guitar instrumental section at the end that wait all seems worthwhile. It’s a brave and epic song, of the sort most acts in the genre would hold back to the end of the record, but Lining Redox are laying their stall and their influences out clearly for all to hear
  ‘Faithless’ and ‘Thunderquake’ are a lot shorter and to the point and benefit from a more traditional song structure and format, whilst being no less technically proficient, with keyboardist Gianluca Minto given chance to shine in particular in the latter of these two tracks. Whereas the likes of Dream Theater, who are clearly a massive influence on this album (even to the point of some melody lines sounding particularly like they could have come from the fingers of Petrucci and Rudess) tend to show off the musical skills of their instrumentalists fairly evenly within a song, Lining Redox tend to favour one player in each individual track in turn. I’m going to keep coming back to the comparisons between these two acts, not just because of the musical tropes they share but for the same reason that “Images And Words”first caught my attention in 1992 – because this album has the same ‘wow’ factor as that benchmark Progressive Metal record.
  The bulk of the album’s running time is actually taken by the epic three-part ‘Transcending’, coming in with the combined running time of a whopping twenty-four minutes and six seconds, it really cannot be ignored. Now, as time goes by the only problem with opting to do prestigious multi track epics that spread in three or more parts is what to do if one of them unexpectedly becomes the hit and becomes forever an orphan in your live set. That would be a nice problem for any band to have of course. However, it also means with all that material to play with that the instrumentalists start to share the workload evenly between them, although avoiding the synchronised soloing that is one of the trademarks of the likes of Dream Theater. Where this massive mid-album epic works so well are the complete changes of tone away from the traditional Metal tropes into the kind of paces and tempos that would not sound amiss on a Pink Floyd album, with some nice instrumental breaks on piano and sax to really mix up the sound. The album’s title more or less brings things to a conclusion and is a much heavier and tightly arranged piece. Musically this is top drawer stuff, and with a few more tracks of this more focussed songwriting consistency, these boys are going to be a force to be reckoned with…
  Where I have a slight challenge are the vocal performances, which sometimes lack flow. Matteo Mancini has a good tone and timbre to his range, with a lovely clear and emotive sound, however some of the tracks don’t seem to have been written with his range in mind (most notably that troublesome opener – which is another reason why it’s an odd choice to introduce people to the record). The press release alludes to an unstable line up leading to this debut, so perhaps this is an older piece written around someone else’s voice, but either way experience in both writing and performing this material will likely iron out this wrinkle whatever its root cause is. One final DT comparison: although the Images album was their major label debut, it was not their first record and I get the feeling that whatever these chaps bring to the table next is likely to be the point of coalescence. Nevertheless, this is a damn fine piece of music from a band to watch.
  Disclaimer: This review is solely the property of Simon Black and Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this review, unless you have the strict permission of said party. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.
  Posted on January 29, 2021 January 29, 2021 Categories Album ReviewsTags Album Review, Italian Symphonic Metal, Lining Redox, Simon Black, Symphonic Metal, The Moral SceneryLeave a comment on Lining Redox – The Moral Scenery	
  Hello, dear friends. It is I, Dark Juan. I trust I find you well and all preparing yourself for the festival of the birth of the False God’s equally false son? Anyway, I have been a good little soldier and behaved myself in my past few reviews, so our Lord and Master, mighty smiter, metal king and surprisingly tolerant editor (when faced with my rantings he is never less than gracious and understanding, notwithstanding just how many times I use the word fuck. Which is a lot) Sir Richard Tilley has taken off my leash and allowed me to emerge, blinking and shellshocked from his basement into the drab and reedy light of a gloomy British winter day. After several fortifying cups of Yorkshire’s finest brew, I immediately have cast about for devilry to commit, preferably indoors because this Hellpriest doesn’t like the cold, and I have been permitted to (in flagrant disregard of the panic and fear I caused myself the last time I spoke to somebody famous and popular – I am famously misanthropic and awkward around people. Clearly Rick and I have learned NOTHING from the previous experience) interview Swedish symphonic metal stalwarts Eleine, who have recently released an absolute STONKER of an album in “Dancing In Hell”. Add the fact it appears that I am suffering from puppy paralysis as the Dread Lord Igor Egbert Bryan Clown-Shoe Cleavage-Hoover (no, there WON’T be more of that later) has settled happily next to me and is snoring gently and emitting the kind of smells that should be banned under the Geneva Convention and you will understand that this has made me utterly unable to move and has led to a period of lightheaded, bonehead confidence due to oxygen starvation (but pleasingly NOT paradoxical undressing) which has led in turn to this collection of questions, of which the fabulous Madeleine Liljestam from the Scandinavian symphonic superstars is now obliged to answer.
  Dark Juan: Greetings and salutations. I am Dark Juan, incumbent enfant terrible of Ever-Metal.com. Please do tell whom I have the pleasure of addressing today?
  DJ: Thank you for consenting to be part of the nonsense I write and congratulations on a spectacular and wide-ranging record. Could you please tell me about the process of writing and recording the album? Who writes the lyrics and does the music come fully formed from the mind of one person or is it all a group effort? Also, even though it is a bit clichéd and overdone, who are your influences and musical heroes?
  M: Thank you, and thank you for reaching out, it’s a pleasure. I’m glad to hear you enjoy our new album. I am very proud of its early success. You can never really know what to expect when releasing something new. But what you can do is create what feels true to you, and that’s the important part We write what we know, what we see and what we feel. There’s a huge piece of ourselves in this album, so it really warms our hearts hearing how appreciated it is.
  Rikard and I write all the music/lyrics and we’re influenced by many various things. Games, movies, life. We get this question a lot and never seem to be able to give something short like naming a band or two. There are many bands that inspire us. I feel that good music is good music….and we listen to good music.
  DJ: When I listen to Eleine’s music, although it is in keeping with the gothic/symphonic metal genre, I find it much more exciting because it appears to have a much harder edge (Rikard’s guitar work and vocals especially) than Nightwish, Within Temptation, After Forever and the like. Is this a conscious decision of the band or are there members who harbour a (possibly not so) secret love of extreme music?
  M: Who said that symphonic metal can’t be heavy or even extreme sometimes? As I mentioned before, we only write and create what feels true to us. We’re going with the vibe we have during the time of writing, you know? I’m glad you like it, thank you very much. Yes, there is a heavier sound on “Dancing In Hell”, and it’s really not a surprise since we like heavier music. I mean, it’s certainly no secret that I myself enjoy listening to black and death metal. I would also like to add that although many seem to believe so, we don’t listen to other bands in our genre and try to write like them. That would be redundant and pointless since they have their sound and we have our own sound.
  DJ: It appears to be becoming more and more difficult for bands to draw attention to themselves, especially during this current COVID unpleasantness, and to make a living from their music. What does Eleine do differently, in your opinion, which makes you stand out from the crowd?
  M: I don’t think we’re the ones to answer that question, the fans and you should, right? We continue to work the way we’ve always done and I take it as a compliment that you actually ask that!
  DJ: As I write this, I am watching Eleine videos, which are richly filmed and produced in a very lush fashion. How important is the visual aesthetic to Eleine, and who comes up with the concepts for videos, and does this transcribe easily to your live shows?
  M: Very nice, thank you! We produce, direct, film and edit all of our music videos on our own. Rikard does most of the camera work and when he needs to be in frame it’s often I who film him. In editing it’s all Rikard with cutting things together and creating that extra depth with his mad editing skills. I of course also help out when he gets stuck and needs a second pair of eyes. The visual aspects are very important for ELEINE. I, myself, visualize so much in both stills and moving pictures when creating music. This extends into live performance and also music videos. Everything you see with ELEINE, is an extension of ELEINE and what we do. Choosing to have the sunset behind us in ‘Ava Of Death’ wasn’t a coincidence. Choosing to have the fire and some subtle facial expressions in ”Dancing In Hell” wasn’t either. there’s so much thought behind it all and I’m glad you like them.
  DJ: Madeleine, obviously, you are a woman fronting a heavy metal band and the visual focal point of Eleine. You may not be aware that there has been something of a scandal involving a British produced heavy metal magazine recently displaying outrageous levels of misogyny regarding female musicians and using language and terms which a lot of others, myself and the ENTIRE staff of Ever-Metal.com included, found totally unacceptable. What are your experiences of reading or hearing about yourself in the wider press and have you found anything unacceptable or outright sexist? Have there been occasions where you have not been treated with the same respect as a male musician? How did you deal with them and what can us writers, reviewers and interviewers do to improve our coverage of women in metal?
  M: That’s terrible! I am aware that idiots rage the earth, but I haven’t heard of that specific idiot. Well, since you bring it up – I do not appreciate reading that ELEINE is a ”female fronted metal” band. What the hell is that? It’s not like every band with men as fronts are called “male fronted metal” bands, right? “female fronted” isn’t a genre. I FULLY get the idea why you’d want to empower women. There is a lot of shit going on. But we are all humans. Sure, we can’t claim other than it’s a mainly man dominated world of metal, but at the same time it is so incredibly wrong to hear that some festivals book 5 bands with female front figures just because they need to hit their quota of equality. Bands should be booked because of their music and delivery when performing, not because of what’s between their legs.
  A band is a band. Metal is metal. No matter sex, skin colour or whatever. Don’t judge a band before you’ve actually listened to their music. I can’t count the times I’ve recently heard: ”I usually don’t listen to bands with a female vocalist but hey, I was recommended to listen to ELEINE and now you have a new fan”. It’s GREAT that people go out of their comfort zone and listen to new music. It’s like I’ve said before…good music is good music, and crap music is crap music.
  I stand up for humans and animal rights. Regardless of gender. We need to be equals in this. It really pisses me off to be put in a box that says ”Female fronted metal” and not even being given a chance to show what we got. Don’t get me wrong, you can of course call a man a man and a woman a woman etc. But instead of “outing” it with labels such as “female fronted”, just call them metal bands and add the actual genre.
  But, as always, I know what we have, I know what we do and I am proud of it. Instead of seeing myself as a victim I’ve always chosen to switch it up a gear instead and make sure I make myself and our fans happy.
  DJ: What news are you receiving about the reception of your latest album? I personally rated it as 9/10 and “Sumptuous, richly produced, expansively written and an essential purchase if you enjoy the beauty of female vocals offsetting metal power.” Are you getting many positive reviews?
  M: What a great rating, thank you very much. The reception has been absolutely fantastic. I am deeply grateful for this. As I mentioned earlier, this album is a huge part of ourselves. I can’t thank everyone enough for buying it, appreciating it and sharing it <3