Customer Reviews

Chaotic Beauty

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

 

 

Its close, but this album almost beats Hatebreeder and Mirror of Madness. Its THAT good. Well, maybe not good, but enjoyable. Face it - sometimes, you can't get into certain songs on certain albums. That never happens when I listen to this Eternal Tears of Sorrow album.

There are extremely soft and beautiful parts, just like on Virgin and a Whore. This album is very different from Vildu Mannu (don't think that one's available on amazon). They added a keyboardist here. I believe the band broke up after Virgin... too bad - this is quite the death metal band. I don't really care for Kalmah - the side project. A warning about the soft and beautiful comment: blastbeats are rather apparent and brutal. As you would expect from Finnvox's bands, the drums and keyboards are beyond belief. Not so much the drums, but the keyboards, particularly in Autum's Grief, are a large portion of what makes this album a must-hear.

The album was released on Spinefarm Records (a great label) and the band got Kimberly Goss (Sinergy, Ancient, Warmen) to sing on 3 songs: Autums's Grief, Bride of the Crimson Sea, and whatever the last track is. There are 9, by the way, and the album is a smidge over 39 minutes long.

Just like on Virgin and a Whore, the lone ballad is track 5, which is Bride of the Crimson Sea. Its not as good as The River Flows Frozen, but it is a very peaceful, enjoyable song. If you're a fan of the Finnish gothic rock bands (For my Pain, To Die For, Sethian, Entwine), you'll love not just this song, but the entire CD. As a matter of fact, 3 Eternal Tears of Sorrow members play in Fallen by For my Pain.

Ever heard of Edge of Sanity? They have Dan Swano. They're the ones behind the 2 amazing Crimson albums. You know? The ones that are single 40 minute songs? Speaking of Crimson and Crimson II - if you enjoy Crimson II (I haven't heard the first one), you should be familiar with the overall loudness of Chaotic Beauty. Edge of Sanity wrote a song a while ago called Black Tears. Guess what track 6 on Chaotic Beauty is? A cover of it! That is one standout tracks on the album, in my opinion. They're all good, so I have to use the word "standout" instead.

More onto comparison between Chaotic and Virgin - Virgin has no blastbeats. At times, Chaotic is more brutal than Virgin and sounds much more like the side project, Kalmah, than on other Eternal Tears albums. But, at other times (such as the 3 songs Kim sings in), its actually softer.

Finally, I'll discuss Chaotic on its own. The opener - starts off with a wind-like howling sound, then kicks into some uptempo stuff and blastbeats. A great opener, but a bit heavy and fast for the rest of the album. 2nd track: about as good as second songs can get. This one does a great job of keeping your interest after the powerful opener. Autumn's Grief: I didn't realize this song would turn out to be my favorite when I put it on a friend's mix! Its awesome!!! A perfect gothic song. Don't get me wrong - this is a death metal song, but the end sounds quite rockish and the keyboards are outstanding. Track 4 has a lot of blastbeats, Bride... I've already described, Black Tears I've already described, Tar of Chaos is similar to track 4, 8 I'm not too familiar with, and the closer has a strange soft guitar solo that isn't that original, but God is it ever complimenting! You'll love it if you're into a more rock-based taste in music.

I don't know who to recommend this to anymore... how about anybody? If you like gothic rock, gothic metal, hard rock, or death metal (or Kalmah), go ahead and get this (and then get Virgin). Its worth the search and the money.

When you get the time, please say if this review helped you or not and go read some of my other reviews. Thanks for reading.

Then this is for you. The styles are very similar and the vocalist pretty much sounds EXACTLY like the one of Kalmah. It's impossible to tell the difference. Now, in this album they are far more aggressive than their 2002 album, which shows they have a unique style developing. Just think of Swamplord or They Will Return and you will get the picture. The album's impossible to hate. Go read a diff. review now.

Lead guitar delivers nice solos that carry the music along. Rythem guitar adds power and crunch. Drums are fast and slow when they need to be, played with finesse. Growling vocals sound very good. I like his tone. Keyboards are not overly obtrusive, as in some bands. Indeed, they add a classical/epic texture to each song, especially in my favorite track: "The Seventh Eclipse" (track 4), or in track 7.

Overall, a good album for those who like it heavy and fast, with some melodic qualities as well. Each song is significantly different and diverse, so you shouldn't ever get bored. Also, on the same note, each song is very well done in my opinion: good complexity throughout, with some good hooks (as in track 4). Nothing ever seems "slapped together", by any means.

I highly recommend this album, and I can't wait to hear what it sounds like after I get a new stereo system put in my car this X-mas!

date of review: 11-1-00

I personally do not care for the the raspy Death metal growls that are associated with this genre. Even so this an album with merit. Of course, I would like this album better with clean vocals but the fact is I do like this album which sometimes reminds me of Cradle of Filth and other times reminds me of Iron Maiden and yet has quite a pretty side as noticed in tracks 3, 5 and 9. In fact track 5, "Bride of the Crimson Sea" is truly an inspirational song for me, containing guest vocal by Sinergy's Kimberly Goss. It alone is worth the cost of the CD.

What is Eternal Tears of Sorrow? They are a now disbanded Finnish quintet who play a mostly uptempo sometimes driven brand of Symphonic Black Metal music. From the opening hard driving number "Shattered Soul" I knew this album was special. Track 2, "Blood of Faith Stains my Hands and track 6, Black Tears are more straight metal and feature Iron Maiden style of guitar playing. Track 9, Nocturnal Strains, again has some vocalizing by Goss. All songs are highly melodic and contain actual symphonic backing.

In summary, I cannot help but feel that, to one who enjoys the Death Metal gruff vocals, this would be a five star, essential album.

This is my first ETOS album and will be buying more. I was looking for something new and this was perfect.

Wow. Eternal Tears of Sorrow is a great band with excellent musicianship. Very depressing stuff. Spinefarm Records has been putting out so many great release lately. This is a great album to listen to in a candle lit room when feeling grief.

All I can say is that I've been listening to this album for three weeks now and I just can't stop listening... Waiting for the next one!