Metal is one of the most overlooked genre’s of music around. When most people think of metal they think of heavy distortion, screaming vocals, and satanic images. However, there is a lot more to metal than that: Sirenia is proof of that, and their debut album At Sixes and Sevens is a testament to what metal really is.
Sirenia is a Gothic Metal band, which is a mixture of doom metal and gothic rock. It’s a combination of the heavy and slow sound of metal with the melancholy and gloom of gothic music to create what I believe is a truly epic sound. Not only that, but Gothic metal can include any sort of instrument: Sirenia features keyboards and a violin in addition to the normal metal instruments. Led by Gothic Metal pioneer Morten Veland, Sirenia created a very ambitious debut album that shines on all accounts.
One other important thing to note about Gothic Metal are the vocals. With this kind of metal (as well as a few other variations), the vocals are a mixture of both harsh and clean male vocals and female vocals. This style is known as “beauty and the beast” and is prominent on the album.
The opening track “Meridian” starts off heavy and melodic, a great example of what Gothic metal is all about. The song really exemplifies what Morten Veland wanted to get out of this project, and it exceeds expectations. What’s important to note from just this song are as follows: the mixture of the male and female vocals, including the addition of the choir, the mixture of guitar leads and keyboard leads, and the use of the violin during lulls in the music to add variation. the end of the song is powerful and one of the most varied pieces of music I have ever heard, ranging from a choral and violin lead to a chugging guitar riff, and back into the quickened pace of the chorus, ending with a ringing chord. It’s beautiful in my opinion.
“Sister Nightfall” continues this awesome blend with a sweet intro and main riff before converging into the verses and chorus. Again, this song shows the versatility of Gothic metal; instead of the harsh male vocals in “Meridian,” the verse is full of clean male and female vocals before having a harsh chorus. With “On the Wane,” the band has fun with riffs, including a keyboard riff built on a more xylophone sounding effect which is cool to hear in a metal sound. It perfectly meshes with the heaviness of the rest of the song. “On the Wane” also features one of the few violin solos on the album. Yes, a violin solo in a metal song. “In a Manica” also features a combination of riffs, including a violin-driven riff.
The title track begins acoustically and picks up after the intro. The keyboard outro is fantastic as well. “Lethargica” is a slower song that is really nothing special in my opinion. Honestly, these two songs are the weakest on the album, but that doesn’t mean there are bad. They’re good, but not as memorable as other songs.
“Manic Aeon” is my favorite song off the album, featuring both soft and heavy guitar parts, both great harsh and clean vocals, great choral parts, and of course, some violin. This time there are two small violin solos, variations off of each other, and both are so awesome to listen to. Hopefully hearing about more violin had convinced you to listen to this is nothing else has. Plus, the female vocals really shine here, with a very angelic feel to them for the little time they are present. Finally, the keyboard riffs are well done.
“A Shadow of Your Own” is a more anthemic sounding song than the others, featuring more guitar hooks than previous iterations and great male vocals, culminating in an epic chorus featuring the choir. Finally, “In Summerian Haze” in an acoustic finale, led by the violin in many places and lead female vocals. This is the only song without harsh vocals.
At Sixes and Sevens is a very ambitions album that hits all of the right notes. Morten Veland succeeds in creation an ethereal album, and the band behind the music succeeds in making his vision a reality. While I said above that there were two weal songs on the album, there truly isn’t a bad song. The mood of the album may bring someone down, but the sound truly is more eccentric that the genre would make you think. truly, this is a spectacular album that more people need to listen to.
I rate this album a 4.5/5.
Monahan's Mind 