CD Info

2011
Self Released / Europe

7 Tracks

English Lyrics

It’s a bit unusual to see a European band making an attempt to sound American, not an impossibility but far from normal. I mean, why would you want to do Jay-Z? Snoop Dog, please, one is enough. And the Beiber, even though he’s not American you get the feeling the Canadians have pretty much said, "Hey, he’s yours, free of charge, keep him." But Lilith to Kill vocalist Aurelie Lilith tells me that is the case here. Now, in her defense, she’s talking about sounds like Evanescense and The Letter Black, not Lady Gaga. And, she’s taken a rather interesting nomenclature to use for the sound. For those of you not up to date on your Demonology, the historical Lilith has history. In fact, word is she was the first demon created, and she was originally human. Wait, that sounds like my first wife, I thought she was the first. Damn, you mean there were two? Anyway, the story is Lilith, who has a really interesting physical appearance, has some less than attractive personality traits. During her run as Demon in Charge she had a habit of possessing young girls. Then she killed their families, nice. Oh, and she was fond of drinking the blood of new born babies. Hmm, the punch lines here are unlimited but probably inappropriate for the venue. . . so we’ll conclude this history lesson by mentioning that this relatively foxy demon finally had her ticket punched and that event is mentioned as the last of the 66 Seals which is another story entirely.

Well, moving right along, the work here is an EP, least that’s my understanding. It’s not that long in terms of time but there are some nice cuts for our listening enjoyment. It strays a little from some of the French material I’ve heard over the past few years, but there is that musically psychological link to the Demon that does, on most occasions, make it interesting listening. The girl can go dark and her supporting cast can bring out the thirst for baby blood in all of us. That’s a joke, right? I don’t want to have to answer questions based on a music review to Federal Prosecutors. I have my Top Secret Security Clearance to think about. But the band does present some music that is truly dark, way beyond Amy Lee in my opinion. Maybe not always with the lyrics but with the sound which is primarily guitar / drum oriented. That sound does have some occasional keys thrown in to color the emotion of certain aspects of that music. For the most part what we get is some interestingly developed female fronted metal. I wouldn’t go heavy on the symphonic, although, as I mentioned, there are some keyboards and even some strings, but this is more typical metal based material. Aurelie does have a nice voice, not really classical but melodic and she can enhance that direction depending on the nature of the material. At other times, she does a more traditional metal sound, but one that clearly reflects an appreciation for the more melodic structures. It would be interesting to see her expand that capability to encompass some more atmospheric sounds, and to include more symphonic material, she demonstrates a capability there on several tracks and you find yourself wondering how that might sound, at least I did. Not everyone has the ability to go in those directions, when you got it, use it. Of course, that does reflect my personal taste in music but there just appears to be so much more this band is capable of, not that I don’t appreciate what we have here, I do. And this is an introductory EP and those are often done to test the wind, to get feedback. So, that’s what I’m doing.

Until the End gets off to a solid start. Lies for Lies starts out with that heavy metal sound but quickly morphs into something a little different. I’m not hearing a lot of typical American metal here although I can appreciate that others may differ in that opinion. A little too much production with the vocals, something I tend to associate with the European approach to things. That and those little "add ons" like where we hear a little laugh in the background. We should make clear here that most of the music is composed by guitar player Pierre "Aqua" Brechet. So, it’s not a huge surprise that the music tends to be oriented towards the guitar rather than the keyboards or something else. But the vocals certainly present that edgy metal thing that may, in some interpretations of reality, be associated with a more Americanized sound.

However, that dark direction appears in the second track, Until the End I mean, it’s not dark in the same way that Cadaveria might present it, there’s no death metal vocal. But we get that pounding drum from the netherworlds that set up the crashing guitar and then a vocal that clearly wasn’t designed to work with Liberace, assuming you know who that is. Or the Beiber for that matter. One of the interesting side plots here is the addition of a male vocal, and even that vocal tends towards the Prince of Darkness approach. Here, the male vocal is provided by Loran Saulus who did the mixing and assisted Aurelie with the arranging. This is one of those tracks with a piano, and Aurelie was the performer there also. That’s a lot of involvement for one person, certainly a credit to her artistic capabilities.

There’s some "extraterrestrial" material on the CD, just a little something to get you in the mood for that Demonic perspective. Are You Real takes this tact. Sounds like what you get when you enter the Haunted House on Halloween, sirens, strange noises, whispered voices, closing doors. Probably make a great intro to a Hollywood horror movie. But, it leads to one of the more interesting metal tracks, Nightmare, appropriate given the previous cut. This one is another pounding metal sound, but the lyrics provide a glimpse into a different perspective, a darker room:

This is a nightmare / but I don’t care
cause I'm the one... / and now he's gone
I'm a prisoner inside the mirror / I feel my body crashed to the floor
What is my real identity ? / Maybe my soul is lost in my reality

The title cut, Lilith to Kill, may be the most interesting track from a number of perspectives. You get great music, and another male vocal, this time one of the guitar players. But the production here is quite extensive and makes the most of everything the band has to offer. From a literary perspective, this one takes us into multiple locations. Aurelie tells me, "The song ‘Lilith to kill’ I think you noticed talk about Adam & Eve and Lilith...It's not a religious lyrics, but we like make some references." The previous selection, Silent Room also provides some complex musical devices, nicely produced and cleverly delivered. More symphonics, again, hopefully a preview of what we might hear in a more complete product.

The final cut is a "bonus" selection and is a little different from the preceding material. It’s called Broken and again uses the male vocals of Saulus to deliver a fine duet. This one is the ballad of the EP and it’s nicely done. Again, hope to see more of this on a final product; excellent vocal work over a subdued instrumental component.

Well, with the exception of that last selection, what we get here is some interesting metal of the harder variety, both from the perspective of the "Demonology" classification as well as the musical / vocal components. Clearly, we have great potential here; one has to wonder exactly which way the band will go with a full tilt production. I’d certainly like to see the symphonics expanded. And the dark lyrical perspective could prove to be interesting if sufficiently developed. But, it’s French and they seem to have a way with that direction, I suspect there should be some expanded thoughts along those lines. Until then, this is some fine music from Marseille and just right for a trip to the World of Demonology. Lilith to Kill indeed.

9 / 10

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