In the year 2000 Morten Veland made the difficult decision to leave a band he put his life’s work into with Tristania, and form a new band we now know as Sirenia. Over a decade since their formation and 5 albums to their credit, Sirenia’s unique blend of gothic, extreme metal, and classical orchestral elements continues to shine. Along with a spectrum of vocals ranging from haunting growls to clean male/ female singing, and epic choirs, Sirenia takes their fans beyond the average listening experience. Painting vivid imagery with music and words, Veland has always showed fascination with the human condition. Through a number of lead female vocalist changes, the band finally found stability when Spanish vocalist Ailyn was recruited in 2008. On the band’s 6th album and 3rd with Ailyn, Perils of the Deep Blue, the true sense of their style stands out. Work on the album began prior to the release of The Enigma of Life (2011) and took Veland and company 2 years of blood, sweet, and tears to complete.
The journey begins with the very slow mystical and spiritual intro of “Ducere Me In Lucem”, which molds into a dark symphonic ambiance. Ailyn’s vocals are poetic with darker classical chanting that instantly mesmerizes you. On “Seven Widows Weep” heavy instrumentation and harsh choir chants set the mood along with the vocal variations of Veland’s grunts and Ailyn’s soaring voice providing for a captivating listen. The tempo changes halfway to a more spiritual sound between the keyboard and vocals, gradually slowing down to an operatic and peaceful vibe until the drums and guitar kick in ending things with high impact. “My Destiny Coming To Pass” opens up with heavy drumming, strings, and vocals. The drums have a lot of great energy mixing with powerful guitar riffs keeping the track fast, dark, and deep. Ailyn rocks this song with her powerful delivery. The songwriting is nothing but perfection here along with lyrics that shine light on the darkness that all humans go through from time to time. Directly following is the quick entry of the catchy tune “Ditt Endelikt”, opening up heavy and dark with their Norwegian tongue. The 5th track, “Cold Caress” begins with a gothic and symphonic intro containing hypnotic chanting and heavy guitar riffs. The great harmony and a mixture of the vocalization is what fans know and love about Sirenia. The strong musical elements make the song stand out among the rest of the album.
The next track “Darkling” opens up with a slow and peaceful guitar riff growing heavier with a spellbinding rhythm and beautiful harmonization between Ailyn and Veland. Lyrically strong, the chorus expresses a way to conquer your own personal struggles with the words, “You got to chase your demons on the run. Put out their fire, their dark desires. The exorcism has begun. Slaying all, leaving none”. The most captivating aspect of the song is that it begins and ends structured around the same single guitar riff. Adding a funkier electronic element, “Decadence”, is a bit lighter of a track, although there are moments of heaviness and force. Next we are provided the longest song on the album entitled “Stille Korn Doden” which clocks in over twelve minutes long and opens up with a stormy intro, vocals that have a classical twist, and instrumentation being a big focus during the beginning. Dark grunts enter at almost 5 minutes in, which then returns to a classical soft operatic tone providing for a constant change in tempo of soft to heavy throughout. As with the previous track, this song also mirrors the opening during its closing. The 9th track “The Funeral March” starts out heavy with various electronic sounds. Lyrically, the song remains poetic as the singing continues to sparkle; exhibiting the band’s ability to continue pushing the perimeters instrumental and vocally.
Winding down the album, the tenth track, “Profound Scars” begins with another energetic and impeccable intro. This track emerges more playfully than its predecessors. This is yet another example of Sirenia’s signature style and could be the best song off the album. Ending things is “A Blizzard is Storming”, which starts out as a whisper progressing more delicately than the previous track. It slowly grows into a darker and heavier song leaving us with a powerful ending to a near flawless album. If you are able to get your hands on the limited edition version of the album, “Chains” and “Blue Colleen” are bonus tracks which are an enjoyable listen.
Sirenia has truly tightened and perfected their style in Perils of the Deep Blue. There is also slightly more diversity from their prior albums with additional elements, making their unique style grow even deeper. Sirenia definitely found their niche and can keep any listener on their toes. Their use of tempo changes, diversified vocals, along with poetic lyrics truly make them stand out. CrypticRock gives Perils of the Deep Blue 4.5 out of 5.
- Nuclear Blast
Written by Zenae Zukowski
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