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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
one of the jewels of my collection, January 3, 2007
considering how short the history of Forever Slave, with their first release, Alice's Inferno coming out a mere year and a half or so ago, it is entirely surprising how good this whole album is. at first listen i was not impressed. only one track really caught my attention, and it took several trips through the whole thing for me to begin to appreciate what i had. or maybe it took that long to get to understand their style.
their style is darker than other fem metal groups like Nightwish and Within Temptation (of whom i am a huge fan), not only in terms of their music but also their lyrics which at certain points make no secret of their association, at least nominally, to the occult. rip-roaring drums, death growling vocals and guitars vociferously assert their agreement in this, but yet the light side seems to be tugging at their other shoulder in the guise of violins, orchestral synths and Lady Angellyca's voice which certainly manages to sound angelic at times.
this 'beauty and the beast' arrangement has worked so well for other bands in the past, such as Tristania and Theatre of Tragedy to name some of the better ones, and Forever Slave give it a facelift and their own artistic touches. the result, as i have already stated, is magnificent, but perhaps not immediately apparent.
this should be an essential part in the collection of those who enjoy melodic, transcending metal with a cutting edge and a gorgeous female voice. 5 stars for all around excellence.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Alice's Inferno, June 27, 2006
Wow. I'm a little surprised I am the very first person to review this album, despite the fact it has been released for nearly a year. This is the first album of the Spanish Gothic Metal band Forever Slave, following three demos.
This is a concept album, telling the story about Alice, who's parents have deceased. The lyrical content is all akin to the Gothic imagery and links to Alice's story: about death, despair, darkness, spirits, hell etc. Like a lot of Gothic metal, there is frequent use of male death vocals. The death vocals fit in very well, and all accentuate the `inner demons' of temptation Alice has to face when she is alone. ("Innocent! Alice tortured by Darkness. Innocent! The Shades will get you down!" in Lunatic Asylum for example) Lady Angellyca has a beautiful voice; in the middle of the classical Sharon Den Adel and the operatic Tarja Turunen. The only slight problem is that sometimes her vocals `melt' into the music, so it is difficult to understand what she's singing. There's also Gregorian chanting in Reminisces; a violin, a piano in nearly all songs, and bells provided by the keyboards. Indeed, this album is a heavily textured album with lots of instruments played at once.
This album is very symphonic and I mean VERY. If you thought Within Temptation and Nightwish was symphonic, think again: this album surpasses them all. The symphony plays a bigger role than the guitars in most cases, and it is like the symphony plays the major melodies and the guitars adorn them. That being said, the guitars dishes out amazing solos in Lunatic Asylum (from 2.32 to 3.08); Reminiscences (4.00 to 5.00) and Across The Mirror (3.53 to 4.35). Most of the other `solos' are actually the strings playing with the guitars backing up. Death vocals are featured in the songs Lunatic Asylum, In The Forest, Equilibrium, Circles Of Tenebra, Aquelarre, and The Letter. In Equilibrium there's even some black metal screams. The drums are pummelling, and the bass is extremely well sustained. The songs themselves are clearly very Gothic and atmospheric. Most of them are moody and some are slow (almost like Gothic Doom), with drawn out strings parts, and a lot of eerie diminished chords. The songs are quite long: there are 10 songs and the album is 54 minutes long. It is quite unfair to compare this band to any other bands because their sound is quite unique.
Lunatic Asylum is a strong opener. The strings are very theatrical, and the symphony actually reflects the mood of the whole album, depending on the way they are played. There are some machine gun blast beats followed by the best solo in the album. The death vocals are very low, but coherent. Reminisces follows, and the strings are more lighthearted and less embellished. The Gregorian chanting follows every line sung in the choruses, and fits very well. A solo is played with the guitar but carries on with the chorus singing on top of it.
In The Forest is my favourite song because it's got amazing drumming. There's a combination of sinister chords with a more positive atmosphere. I love the lines "Nymphs start to sing to me. They whisper to me my name. Don't stop, Alice, this symphony! Don't tell my name nevermore," with the death vocals repeating the words "sing to me" and "symphony!" Following this is a beautiful piece of music with the symphony, followed by a slow piano part. Equilibrium is pretty much a `horror type' song all the way through. With the strings being played dramatically, the black vocal screams and the pounding double bass drumming; this is the most desolate song on the album. From the 3.34 mark to the end, the song changes tone into a slow, Gothic doom song.
Circles Of Tenebra makes full use of the symphony and has a recurring melody played in between choruses. At the 4.15 mark a creepy voice comes in, followed by the upbeat chorus. The atmosphere of Dream and Dust is positive, with prominent bells and pianos being played. There is some Latin being sung and this is a more upbeat song. Aquelarre changes mood from Dreams and Dust, reverting back to the gloomy ambience (perhaps because the lyrics speak of rituals and sacrifice). The violin can be heard the most in this song.
At 7.56 Across The Mirror is the longest song and is divided up into many parts. It starts off with a slow doom introduction then proceeds into a grandiose explosion of fast-paced drumming with some classical vocals. In the choruses there are tiny amounts of death vocals, but not enough to be notable. At the 3.15 mark there is a 2-minute solo of guitars and strings, followed by a slow minimalised chorus. The drumming is top-notch in this chorus and very ostentatious and anthem-like.
Tristeza is the shortest song (3.51) and is a very straightforward song, void of death vocals. However the merger of guitars and strings is felt significantly, and there is an electronic beat here and there. The album ends at The Letter, a powerful fast song. I love the violins in this song. As it is the last song, it can be assumed that Alice has died but found peace - from the lines "Your soul is flying a long way from here...Your soul reduced to dust...Today you life is a whisper for the angels".
Overall this is a very good debut album and I can't wait until they release their next album. If you like Gothic metal, doom metal, or symphonic metal then I highly recommend this album. If you like Within Temptation, Nightwish, Sirenia, Leaves' Eyes, Theatre of Tragedy, Epica, After Forever or Tristania, then this album is a must.
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Pure Genius, August 4, 2006
Forever slave are a band with many combined talents. Their lead vocalist "Lady Angellyca" consists of great looks and an operatic and semi-operatic voice. The band members are very talented and very symphonic with many neo-classical riffs
As for the music - Well the music is extremely symphonic and never lacks an ensemble instrument. The band is very underground and the album is quite hard to find in some countries. Even though the album is low budget, It has been engineered and programmed professionally.
I was quite surprised to listen to the album because it has death "Opeth-like" vocals too.Lunatic Asylum is a strong opener. The strings are very theatrical, and the symphony actually reflects the mood of the whole album, depending on the way they are played.
There are some machine gun blast beats followed by the best solo in the album. The death vocals are very low, but coherent. Reminisces follows, and the strings are more lighthearted and less embellished. The Gregorian chanting follows every line sung in the choruses, and fits very well. A solo is played with the guitar but carries on with the chorus singing on top.The album is a concept album tellnig the story of a teenager called "Alice" who went crazy and killed her parents. Alice Dies but finds peace.
Recommended Tracks -
Tristeza - Tristeza is the only song without death vocals but has a really strong emotional depth and contains very intelligent riffs. It must be heard to be appreciated 5/5
In The Forest - This song surprisably bursts and has a great epic preportion of a mixture between violins and heavy guitaring along with sexy vocals 5/5
"The Letter" - Another experimental song that has very sad elements towards the album's storyline. It contains a part where alice speaks and you always look forward to it because the voice is very cute and lonely. 5/5
PROS -
VERY Symphonice
Songs are very different towards other bands
The album flows very well
"The Letter" - Vocals go from operatic to evanescance type of vocals
CONS -
Sometimes cant hear what is being said
Soem songs are disappointing because others are better
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by Forever Slave 
