Customer Reviews

Bloodangel's Cry

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I was listening to "Bloodangel's Cry" at work recently, and a colleague asked me what kind of music it was. I thought about it for a moment, and then replied "Female-fronted symphonic speed metal". And that's what Krypteria is, and it is *excellent*.

Lead singer Ji-In Cho doesn't have as strong a voice as that of Amy Lee of Evanescense or Sharon den Adel of Within Temptation, but she has tremendous energy. And she *needs* it, to keep up with the blistering pace of music that the rest of the Krypteria band puts out. Their combined efforts result in a symphonic metal album that is truly inspired.

Stand-out tracks include "All Systems Go", "Scream", "Lost", "I Can't Breathe", "Dream Yourself Far Away", and "Sweet Revenge". I normally consider an album to be worth buying if it has at least two stand-out tracks, and this one has SIX. And *all* of the rest are worth a listen as well. Not a single one among them is bad.

*Highly* recommended. Any fan of female-fronted rock should consider buying this album today.

I'm not entirely certain why Krypteria seems largely ignored if number of reviews in any indication. This group is right up there sniffing at the heels of the likes of Within Temptation, Epica, and Nightwish. The singer isn't what I would call powerful, but she can certainly carry a tune. There sound might lean a bit towards the pop side, but not too much. I'd recommend this one to any fans of symphonic metal.

I am a fan of Within Temptation, Epica, Sirenia, etc., and for me Krypteria holds a place along side of them. The female lead singer (and pianist) Ji-In Cho has great range and variety in her vocals and the chorus sings with power. The piano arrangements are extremely interesting; I listen for them in each piece. Ms. Cho's vocals are crisp and precise, and the richness of the harmonics in her voice are equal to Sharon den Adel's.

My favorites on Bloodangel's Cry are "Somebody Save Me" and "The Night All Angels Cry", but these are the cream of the crop since there is not a weak song amongst the twelve on the CD. On top of this, the lyrics are meaningful and speak to me. I strongly recommend this CD to fans of female-fronted symphonic goth metal (or whatever the correct term for this genre is). Enjoy!

Gothic Kabbalah may have been a letdown but Therion's body of work has a tremendously good ratio of GREAT songs vs filler. This band catapults into their league with their three albums, this one by far their best.

Nightwish, Sins of Thy Beloved, Visions of Atlantis, Epica, Asrai, MacBeth (Italian), Tristana, all have to take a step down to make room for KRYPTERIA. They all have their share of Good and Great songs but also have their share of filler.

Over the course of their three albums, Krypteria has evolved quite a bit. Where will they go next? It's like they have been discovering who they want to be and what they are. Now that they know, Look Out!

2007's Bloodangel's Cry is the third full-length album from German metal band Krypteria. I first heard this band on the Rock For Asia DVD and was so impressed by their performance (and yes, the smoking hotness of their singer Ji-In Cho) that I knew I had to give one of their studio albums a try.

The first thing that jumped out at me when I listened to Bloodangel's Cry is that despite Cho's very pretty vocals, this is undeniably a metal album. It's melodic, but still packs plenty of punch, and not always the highly orchestrated gothic or symphonic kind. Some of these tracks qualify as straight-up power metal. It seems like a lot of these female-fronted bands shy away from a traditional metal sound. Fortunately that's not the case here. You will rock out to this one, whether it's to speedy, powerful songs like "All Systems Go" or epic compositions like "At the Gates of Retribution."

If you follow bands like Nightwish, After Forever, Coronatus and Edenbridge, you'll definitely want to check out Krypteria, and Bloodangel's Cry is a great place to start. They're one of the better bands in the female-fronted melodic metal genre.

Bloodangel's Cry (2007) is the third studio album from the German power metal band Krypteria. Their music is powered by the heavy guitar of Chris Siemons, who doesn't take many extended solos, but does a magnificent job creating dark rhythms, and gloomy moods in low registers, reminiscent of Tony Iommi. Working in harmony with bass player Frank Stumvoll, and drummer S.C. Kuschnerus, they produce the musical canvas for vocalist Ji-In Cho. Singing about pain, despair and uncertainty, her performance is quite special, on this vocal tour de force. Fast, slow, halting, dripping with emotion or dramatic operatic overtones, Cho is on top of it all. She does not have the greatest range, but makes the most of her considerable talents. Only occasionally is there a hint that English is not her first language. Bloodangel's Cry is an exceptional album, with twelve very powerful tracks.

"All Systems Go" kickstarts the album, with pulsing pedal tones, it is a good introduction to Cho's singing style, and also features a cool chorus, and one of Siemons longer more aggressive guitar solos. The band can play well fast or slow, but Krypteria seems to be more comfortable doing midtempo songs, where the lack of emphasis on guitar solos and fills isn't missed as much. The band definitely has a talent for writing dramatic power ballads. "Somebody Save Me" is Krypteria at their most radio friendly. More typical is "Lost", an edgier, more operatic tune. Even slower and more dramatic, "This Is The Night All Angels Cry", which has a nice change of pace section near the end.

The band does gritty, crunching, industrial sounding metal. "Time To Bring The Pain" features some aggressive guitar that slices like a knife, and Cho's plaintive vocals. Raspy and abrasive like a file, "Out Of Tears", and accented by operatic themes. "Sweet Revenge" is upbeat, operatic, thrash, with a driving beat, and powerful chorus. Opening with some menacing evil sounding bass, "I Can't Breathe", grabs you in the gut, and pulls you along with a powerful beat and full chorus. Right out of a horror flick soundtrack, "The Promise" with its soaring walking on the clouds vocals, chugs along with some more Sabbathesque passages. With a grinding, pulsating groove, "Dream Yourself Far Away", features Cho's little girl voice, and a great chorus.

Cho's rapid fire aggressive singing is counterbalanced, by her slow halting style, setting the stage for an emotional release in "Scream". This is straight ahead punishing headbanging metal, showing what the band could sound like if the guitar was pushed more to the front. Melodic, gloomy, and dynamic, the ten minute epic "At The Gates of Retribution" concludes this great album. Recapping a long dark journey, the song explores the depths of despair. Very heavy duty stuff.

At what they do, Kryteria is an awesome, and dramatic musical force. They can rock you, make you cry, or scare the crap out of you. The music is powerful, and Ji-In Cho is definitely the key ingredient in the band's ascendance. This is clear when the band performs live, where Cho is the center of attention, and Siemons is typically focused on playing rhythm guitar parts. With greater stage presence than her 5'-3" height would seem to command, Cho is a powerful performer, who does her best to replicate the studio recorded vocals, as well as front the band and work the crowd. Check out the Krypteria's music at You Tube, and see if they capture the dark side of your musical soul. If you like this album, don't miss Krypteria's followup, My Fatal Kiss (2009), which is very much in the same style.

Bloodangel's Cry is an amazing album. period.

this is the only krypteria album i have listened to. and i fell in love with it.

the thing that makes it unique is the vocals of Ji-In Cho. She adds and oriental touch to the songs, which is brilliant. as my fellow reviewers have said she does not have much of a powerful voice, but that the best part... its kinda delicate and it makes the songs so different.

the album would appeal to who listen to bands like Amberian Dawn, Edenbridge, Lullacry etc. The songs have some great tune which is sure to stay in your mind for a while.

the album has some very good melodic power metal flavor. they shouldn't be compared to bands like Nightwish (which i worship). Krypteria is a beautiful band on its own.

The album starts with a very breaky-catchy song "All Systems Go", the second ones my fav in the whole album "The Promise"

there are some really good ones like "Somebody Save Me (which has a beautiful video)", "Scream" , "Lost" and "Dream Yourself Far Away". The last songs a great one as well "At The Gates Of Retribution" very nice with all the background vocals.

This album is a definite must buy for people who like melodic power/symphonic metal. Happy listening!

Ji-in Cho's vocals may not be as strong as Tarja Turunen (ex-Nightwish) or Sharon Den Adel, but her energy and the music composition make up for it. Bloodangel's Cry remains, for me, their best release. Stand-out tracks include "The Promise," "Lost," "Out of Tears," "Scream," "Time to Bring the Pain," and "All Systems Go," but there are no filler tracks on this album and all songs are worth listening to and add to the atmosphere. The choirs add depth to the songs, though without them, I don't think Krypteria would sound nearly as wonderful. There is a lack of fullness in the orchestra, though I can't exactly pinpoint the issue. I wanted to give this 4.5 stars, but I settled for a 4 instead of 5 because there is better symphonic metal out there, though you can't go wrong with this album.

Gothic metal done well. I enjoy the sound of her voice. Memorable songs. Great sound.

Whole album has an "I have been hurt by a lover" kinda feel, which could strike a cord with a lot of people. Lyrics do a good job of conveying her feelings.

Good stuff!

Krypteria are like Coronatus, I need time to listen to them. The more I hear them, the more I like them.