Check It Out: Cardamon

Time to feature yet another gem from The Netherlands! Cardamon hails from Utrecht and sounds similar to our previous Check It Out band (and fellow countrymen/woman), Only Fate Remains. What makes Cardamon different from OFR is its balance of sounds: their songs contain metallic riffs, semi-progressive structures, acoustic passages, and enchanting melodies courtesy of Floortje Donia. The best word I can use to describe Cardamon’s music is “melancholy.” You can hear and sense that emotion in the lyrics, the vocals, and the moods created by the music. Think of Cardamon as a female-fronted version of Katatonia during their Last Fair Deal Gone Down days – or a mix of Katatonia, Autumn, The Gathering, and circa-1999 Anathema.

Cardamon has played a number of shows in their homeland over the past couple years. A number of those gigs were opening slots for Delain, Stream of Passion, Kingfisher Sky, and Autumn. So, this band has had a lot of great opportunity to get their name out there in Holland. Oh, and two trivia bits for you: Cardamon guitarist Koen Romeijn is the lead singer of the melodic death metal band Detonation. And, bassist Luuk van Gerven played the same instrument for After Forever until that band split up in 2009. Just goes to show that Cardamon’s members have a wide range of tastes in metal music!

Cardamon has two albums under their belt: The Primrose Path, released in 2007; and Sun As Never (pictured above), which came out last month. Sun As Never sees the band going in a heavier direction. As a result, the music has a stronger electric-guitar base and is generally more uptempo. The lyrics and prevailing moods, however, are still dark, somber, and introspective. Cardamon has actually released Sun As Never for free download only at their website. So if you haven’t heard of Cardamon before, this is a good opportunity to do so – without opening your wallet!

Out of both Cardamon albums, however, I prefer The Primrose Path a smidge more. I find something charming about that record’s delicate balance of electric and acoustic moments as well as Floortje’s clear, lilting harmonies. A great example of all of the elements that make up The Primrose Path is the song “Sleepless World.” The intro grabs your attention while building in intensity, and the song as a whole is full of those contrasts that make up Cardamon’s signature sound.

Cardamon are:

• Floortje Donia: Vocals
• Koem Romeijn: Guitars, keyboards, backing vocals
• Kevin Storm: Guitars
• Luuk van Gerven: Bass
• Michael van der Kolk: Drums

You can learn more about Cardamon by visiting their official website or their Myspace, Facebook, YouTube, and ReverbNation pages.

~ Sara

Check It Out: Only Fate Remains

We haven’t done one of these articles in a while! So, let me introduce you to an up-and-coming band from The Netherlands.

Only Fate Remains (formerly known as Trisomy) is a band I’ve heard about from a number of people – primarily John at Sugar & Spikes Radio, and my Sonic Cathedral colleague Doctor T – before I finally got around to listening to their music. They’re another one of what I’d call the “second wave” of Dutch female-fronted metal bands. In other words, they’re not symphonic or gothic (like Within Temptation, After Forever, Epica, etc.), but more rock oriented like Autumn, Cardamon, or even The Gathering. Now that I think about it, OFR singer Eva Kokken’s voice reminds me a lot of Anneke van Giersbergen (ex-The Gathering, Agua de Annique) and Floortje Donia (Cardamon). So, what you get with OFR is a strong melodic metal experience with hints of gothic, atmospheric, progressive, and hard rock styles.

What else can I tell you about OFR besides what they sound like? Well, this band has been around for a while! Guitarist Michiel van Veen founded the band back in 1996. (Michiel is also the only remaining original band member.) OFR’s current formation has been together for less than a year; guitarist Jacques Maas joined the band earlier in 2011. This Eindhoven-based sextet has also had the opportunity to open for a number of well-known Dutch femme metal acts (Epica, Autumn, Stream of Passion, and Delain, just to name a few) as well as male-fronted bands such as My Dying Bride and Paradise Lost. Quite a variety of bands they’ve supported, huh?

Just a few weeks ago, OFR released its debut album, Breathe, through the UK-based Ravenheart Music Records. Breathe is a brief but power-packed collection of dark melodic metal. The quality of the album’s production is solid, too. It create a healthy balance between the vocals, the guitars, and other instruments, and lets in little bits of ambiance and keyboards when you least expect it. The two songs I recommend the most are “Lost” and “Shallow Water.” Both are uptempo, guitar-driven tracks with catchy melodies that make the songs quite likeable.

OFR has filmed a music video for one of the songs on Breathe. I haven’t found out which song they chose to film – but as soon as the video is online, we’ll make sure to share it with you!

Only Fate Remains are:

• Eva Kokken – Vocals
• Michiel van Veen – Guitars
• Jacques Maas – Guitars
• Maarten Siem – Keyboards
• Pieter van den Berkmortel – Bass
• Marc Bruijn – Drums

Check out Only Fate Remains at their official website as well as Facebook, Myspace, and ReverbNation. You can purchase Breathe now through Ravenheart Music Records, Sonic Cathedral, iTunes, Amazon, or directly from OFR at their webshop.

~ Sara

Check It Out: Autumn

I’ve been waiting for a while to write about this band – and now it’s time!

Yes, Autumn is one of my absolute favorite female-fronted bands. (And one of Robin’s, too, if I’m not mistaken.) They’re also one of the few bands who have mastered the art of musical evolution. Originally, they performed epic gothic metal (imagine Epica or After Forever without the symphonics or an operatic vocalist) – and today, they do a more direct style of atmospheric, alternative metal. That’s quite a swing from one musical extreme to the other, isn’t it? The thing is, each Autumn album brings out different sides of the band’s personality. And, with the exception of their debut When Lust Evokes the Curse, I’ve enjoyed every Autumn album to date.

Autumn is from Groningen, Netherlands and has actually been around for a while. The original line-up formed in 1995 – but the band didn’t record their first album until 2003! What’s also amazing about this band is each woman they’ve selected as their lead vocalist has been a perfect choice. Nienke de Jong (who left Autumn in 2008 and now fronts the hard rock band DejaFuse) has a sultry, charismatic voice that’s one of the most unique on the scene. Marjan, on the other hand, injects a smooth warmth and maturity into the music when she sings.

I love Autumn’s two past albums equally – so much that I’d say both would be on my top 10 list of all-time favorite female-fronted rock/metal albums. My New Time, released in 2007, is an appropriately named album. It marks Autumn’s departure from gothic metal for the more rock-oriented direction they have now. The songs are more straightforward and better suited for Nienke’s distinct voice, and the ambiances range from mysterious (“Angel of Desire”) to sad (“Sunday Mornings”) to fearsome (“State of Mind”). I either like or love every song on My New Time, but my favorite track from it is definitely the single, “Satellites.” Here’s the band’s official video for “Satellites”:

Altitude (2009) is Autumn’s most recent album and Marjan’s first with the band. It’s in the same vein as My New Time, but the band experiments with more relaxed moods, progressive elements, and lengthier compositions. (In fact, Altitude reminds me of Anathema’s recent works.) I love a number of songs from this CD: “Paradise Nox,” “Altitude,” “A Minor Dance,” … but “Skydancer” tops them all. This song makes me feel confident, content, even invincible in a subtle way – the exact sentiments that Autumn had hoped their fans would feel when listening to this song. (Click here to read a track-by-track description of Altitude that features this comment.) Here is a live clip of Autumn performing “Skydancer”:

Autumn are:

• Marjan Welman: Vocals
• Jens van der Valk: Guitars, Backing Vocals
• Mats van der Valk: Guitars, Backing Vocals
• Jan Munnik: Keyboards
• Jerome Vrielink: Bass
• Jan Grijpstra: Drums

Autumn is getting ready to release its fifth full-length album in November via Metal Blade Records. (Yay!!) So, stay tuned to the band’s official website, Myspace, Facebook, and ReverbNation sites to get the latest info as soon as it’s available. You can also buy Autumn’s albums at iTunes (mixed in with other artists with the same name – how annoying!), Amazon, Metal Blade Records, and metal/rock music shops worldwide.

~ Sara

Check It Out: Ex Libris

Another great band I discovered last year is the Dutch band Ex Libris.  Yes, I know what you’re thinking.  They’re just another gothic or symphonic metal band because that’s all that the Dutch bands seem to make these days.  Well, throw those preconceptions out the window.   Ex Libris is actually a progressive metal act – and they’re unlike any other female-fronted metal band in the Netherlands right now.

To be more descriptive, Ex Libris plays progressive metal with hints of gothic, neoclassical, classical, and folk music.  Their singer, the lovely Dianne van Giersbergen, is classically trained and has an impeccable operatic range that rivals Floor Jansen, Vibeke Stein, and even Tarja Turunen.  And although Nightwish is one of Ex Libris’ influences, they also credit Symphony X, Opeth, Dream Theater, Moonspell, and Seventh Wonder for influencing their sound.

So it’s no surprise that Ex Libris’ 2008 debut, Amygdala, is a colorful one.  You’ll hear all kinds of musicality on this album: heavy riffs, frenzied keyboard solos, myth-like storytelling in the lyrics, Transylvanian organs, and a plethora of tempo changes and progressive elements.  As for Dianne, well, she can do just about anything with her voice.  She has the power to soothe, excite, and even intimidate with her soaring soprano.  If you’re looking for tracks from Amygdala to check out, I highly recommend the beautiful ballad “Sail…,” the exhilarating opener “Dawn of Sugars,” or my personal favorite Ex Libris track, “Destined.”  Here’s a live clip of Ex Libris performing “Destined” last year.

Currently, Ex Libris is in the studio recording demos for their second album, Medea. They also have a few shows scheduled in the Netherlands later this year.

Ex Libris is:

• Dianne van Giersbergen – Vocals
• Paul van den Broek – Guitars
• Koen Stam – Keys
• Peter den Bakker – Bass
• Joost van de Pas – Drums

Check out Ex Libris at their official website or on Facebook or Myspace to learn more about the band.  And tell them we sent you!

~ Sara