Dark Clouds in a Perfect Sky

Elis

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 11, 2004)
• Original Release Date: February 1, 2005
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Napalm
• ASIN: B0002ZXCYY
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #35,171 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Track Listings

1. Der Letzte Tag

2. Anger

3. Lost Soul

4. Perfect Love

5. Heart In Chains

6. Die Zeit

7. Black Angel

8. Devil Inside You

9. Rebirth

10. Are You Missing Me

11. Ballade

12. Show Me Heaven (bonus track)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Elis' debut album caused quite a commotion in 2003: God’s Silence... was a triumphant, strategic advance that undoubtedly continues with the quintet’s new opus, Dark Clouds in a Perfect Sky. The CD displays superb, rich and varied Gothic Metal, with a heavy and occasional ballad-like edge. Altogether a deep and entertaining album - a new star in the "perfect sky".

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A top notch metal album, April 16, 2005

By	Erica Anderson (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

I recently discovered Elis through Outburn magazine and was quickly intrigued by what I read. I was very curious to hear their new album "Dark Clouds in a Perfect Sky". I'm not really big on goth metal as I once was but something about Elis piqued my curiousity. After hearing samples of the album at a local record store, I was immediately hooked on Sabine Duenser's pristine vocals and the melodic yet crunchy heavy metal guitar riffs. Sabine has a very sweet, angelic voice that is not weak nor thin. Her sweet, angelic vocals is a nice contrast to bassist Tom Saxar's gruff vocals on "Heart in Chains". I personally did not mind the occasional vocal contributions from Tom. Musically, the guitars are loud and aggressive which at times reminded me of Nightwish's recent material. All of the songs on the album are excellent. I especially loved the arrangements on the band's ballds like "Perfect Love" and "Ballade". The lyrics on the album are well crafted. The songs did not come off as contrived as a lot of songs by other goth metal bands have a tendency to sound. They are heartfelt and touching. In a sea of cookie cutter goth-metal bands nowadays Elis has risen above the rest with its sonic beauty and grace, aggression and angst. "Dark Clouds in a Perfect Sky" is easily this year's best metal album.

19 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars solid, but doesn't stand out from the pack, July 29, 2005

By	Andrew Kuzel (Rochester, NY United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Elis is a fairly typical contemporary metal/gothy/female vocal type of band. Stylistic omparison to recent Nightwish (Once & Century Child) is reasonable, but Elis just isn't on that level. This CD doesn't display the writing ability, the technical execution, the synergy, or the sheer impact that an elite group like Nightwish has.

Everything works - the playing is fine, Sabine is a capable singer with a nice voice, audio production is decent, and "Dark Clouds" is a good listen. I'd say "Anger" and "Lost Soul" are the best songs; the others are pretty decent as well.

There just isn't anything truly memorable about this CD; having gone through it three times, I'll file it & it may get lost in the shuffle. The biggest negative for me is the formulaic writing; I've heard these songs too many times before. That's not always a show stopper, but I think a band has to have exceptional skills to overcome average writing. Elis has some good piece parts; if they get a more ambitious creatively and work on their overall sound, they could make an impact.

"Dark Clouds" is worth a listen; the more devoted you are to this particular type of music, the more you'll probably like "Dark Clouds" - some may even love this CD. For me though, the field is starting to get crowded, I wouldn't recommend this CD until you've already experienced everything the best bands of this type - Nightwish, Leaves Eyes, Lacuna Coil, Within Temptation, maybe After Forever if you're into the death metal thing - have done.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Are you missing me, July 13, 2006

By	E. Anderson - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

I am not a big fan of heavy metal. I hated the '80s hair metal scene when I was in high school. I hated the nu metal schtick of the late '90s, early '00s. The only metal genre I enjoy is the gothic metal genre which has been around longer than Evanescence (who contrary to what some people might think, did not originate the goth metal sound...The Gathering is credited for creating the goth metal sound).

One of my favorite goth metal bands who I think have never really been recognized is the german band Elis. I discovered Elis accidently in the back pages of Outburn magazine (when it was STILL cool). I immediately went out to purchase the band's 2nd album "Dark Clouds in a Perfect Sky". There is a definite resemblence of Leaves' Eyes Liv Kristine in the voice of Sabine Duenser. Both women share that same delicate voice. The music is though a lot more aggressive IMO. The aggressive guitar riffs compliments Sabine's angelic vocals. A lot of that credit goes to producer Alexander Krull (Atrocity), Liv's husband. His production abilities are immaculate. His work on Elis' album as well as with his wife's albums are perfectly crisp and clean without being overly produced.

Some of the stand out tracks on "Dark Clouds in a Perfect Sky" are the ballads. "Perfect Love" and "Ballade" has that perfect combination of melody and sorrow without losing out that aggressive edge. I absolutely love working out to the aggressive track "Anger" or if I lose my temper, I often crank up this song and start taking out my anger to this song. Elis's sound may not be terribly original but they certainly know how to keep the goth metal genre from becoming bland and predictable.

It deeply saddens me to note mention this news. The heavy metal scene has lost one of its own. Elis lead singer Sabine Duenser recently passed away not even a week ago due to a cerebal hemorrage. This young woman had shown a lot of promise and had a bright future. You were loved and will be forever missed. RIP Sabine :(.