Midnattsol – The Metamorphosis Melody

Releasedate: 22-04-2011; Label: Napalm Records
By: Brandy Cross

Midnattsol is a Nordic Gothic Metal band out of Norway and Germany. They play a unique and beautiful mix of traditional heavy gothic guitars and beautiful soothing symphony or classical music. Lead singer Carmen Elise Espenaes throws in her own touch to the music to make it unique.

The Metamorphosis Melody starts out with the symphonic instrumental piece ‘Alva’. It’s short, sweet and a great intro to the album. With hardly a pause the title track starts up, a beautiful, melody based guitar track with beautiful passionate vocals. Spellbound could easily be compared to any of the works of Sarah Jezebel Diva or even some of Cradle of Filths softer songs. Carmen doesn’t have quite the vocal range but she does an admiral job. Track four ‘The Tide’ blends classical sounding guitar with soft vocals as an intro before picking up a little and a heavy symphonic touch. A poet’s prayer is a lovely, melodic, Goth metal song that relies heavily on the riff and chorus. Forlorn starts off with a bit of soft piano that fades into a heavy guitar and drums; this track probably has some of Carmen’s best vocals and with the added symphony on the chorus is really a nice metal ballad. Kong Valemons Kamp will leave almost any listener pleased, the guitars are intricate, the vocals are well done and whole song comes together really well. Goodbye brings an Arabic touch to the album, or well Arabic sounding guitar; it’s a beautiful ballad and Carmen does it justice. Next track is called Forvandlingen and starts off sounding more like classic rock than metal but blends into fast paced and symphonic. Mokes Makt is heavy, beautiful; pretty much anything you could want from Goth metal. Finally, My Recreation is another slightly slower song; it’s not the best song on the album but it’s very pretty and a good way to finish it off. The drums on the bridge sound absolutely phenomenal.
Overall the album is really nice; a great little goth album to add to your collection. You definitely won’t be regretting it.

Line Up:
Carmen Elise Espenæs – vocals (since 2002)
Birgit Öllbrunner – bass (since 2002)
Chris Merzinsky – drums (since 2002)
Daniel Fischer – keyboard (since 2002)
Alex Kautz – guitar

Tracklist: 01.Alv 02.The Metamorphosis Melody 03.Spellbound 04.The Tide 05.A Poet’s Prayer 06.Forlorn 07.Kong Valemons Kamp 08.Goodbye 09.Forvandlingen 10.Motets Makt 11.My Re-creation

Links:
Midnattsol Official