CD Info
2012
AFM Records
12 Tracks
English & German Lyrics

Late last month, Lyriel released their fourth studio album, much to my excitement. Long have I been a fan of this German folk metal septet, who eschew the keyboards in favour of a violin and cello, and who have one of the most unique sounds in the genre. And I am thrilled to say that this release, Leverage, is Lyriel's strongest, most powerful album yet – and that's saying a lot since they were already pretty amazing.

Starting off with "Intro" which is mainly intrumental apart from a countdown to zero in German, the album gets down to business with the title track, "Leverage." I knew as soon as I heard this song that this was not the Lyriel I was accustomed to, which was more gentle and mellow. There is a lot of anger in this album, something I'm not used to from these guys. "Leverage" the song is purely anthemic and heralds in the bands new edgy, heavier sound. Catchy and powerful, the lyrics are positive and make a statement:

I am here, I'm not going down
I will carry on to do what I must do
To see the truth behind your whispering lies
I am not yours to take down

The rollick continues with the violin-heavy and riffy "Parting." But the ultimate song showing this ballsier Lyriel is the song "Voices in My Head" which is heavy as hell and one of the best headbanging songs I've heard in a while. It even features a bit of a male growl in the beginning, which adds to its atmosphere. If I hadn't been so impressed by what I'd heard so far, this song alone would have totally blown me away.

And if that didn't blow me away, "Road Not Taken" would have. This is Robert Frost's eponymous poem put to music. It starts off like the old Lyriel – soft and gentle, like a nice little acoustic ballad. But wham! After a pregnant pause between the second verse and the chorus – which is actually the third verse of the original poem, showing some creative literary re-purposing – in comes the electric guitars, the bass, the drums, the violin, the cello, and vocalist Jessica belting out the lyrics, effectively turning this song from that nice little acoustic ballad into a full-on killer metal power ballad. The transition in the song is the most surprising and awesome moment of the album. It nearly knocked my socks off as I listened on the skytrain one dreary afternoon.

Allow me to just wax prosaically for a moment about Jessica's voice. To match the ballsier sound Lyriel produces on this album, she effectively displays the full power of her lungs and vocal chops, singing as if her chest cavity has gained significant capacity. She performs the songs with such power and edginess it's almost like she's a brand new singer. Her new tone matches the power and edge of the music perfectly.

Showing more anger is the song "White Lilly." Another anthemic song like "Leverage", the hooky chorus goes,

There was a time
As you were near to me
Your hands, my face
In perfect emnity
And I grow a precious white lilly
For every moment I treasured so dearly

Another stand-out on the album is their cover of "The Star of County Down," which is one of two bonus tracks. I have enjoyed this song for a long time, especially the Loreena McKennitt version. This metal version is stellar, and again, Jessica uses her vocals in a different way, this time with a throaty, playful edge that transforms the song into something sassy.

In the end, Leverage is a gigantic leap forward for Lyriel and the evolution of their sound. This is one impressive album that I can't get out of my head, and as with all bands that I love and who excel at what they do, but are not the "big names" we hear about every day, I hope this album is Lyriel's ticket to bigger and better things – to becoming one of those "big names" we hear about every day.

9 / 10

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