I have no idea how this happened but since December I have reviewed lots of women-fronted bands and actually EVENOIRE is the third band from Italy after LACUNA COIL and MASTERCASTLE. "Vitriol" is their first album and their second release after the EP "I will stay" which was released in 2012. A band that plays gothic folk metal or as it sounded to my ears roughly as a mix of early NIGHTWISH and late THERION blended with a sip of folk music and lyrically dealing with medieval themes. As such is the title of the album, "Vitriol" a mineral acid known from ancient times and by their own words "V.I.T.R.I.O.L."(Visita Interiora Terrae Rectificando Invenies Occultum Lapidem) is an acronym from the alchemical literature (if that intrigues you, other than checking the band, you can also hop to Google or Wikipedia and read some stuff there).

To me it seems that this record is divided into two parts each one being introduced by two short songs "Vitriol" and "The Prayer" respectively. The first part is Symphonic Metal oriented while the second is much more Folk Metal oriented. The album goes on for 46 minutes. Generally speaking, there are a lot of heavy guitar riffs accompanied by strings, flutes and other instruments. The Drums' playing is not over exaggerating keeping on standard patterns other than a few double bass and the bass though not clearly distinguished all the times is blended tight with drums. The vocals of Lisy Stefanone are also great and her performance dresses appropriately the songs. Finally the production of the record is sharp and heavy giving the songs the proper tone and atmosphere and the organs a great and distinct feeling.

My final thoughts are that the band made a considerable effort and a solid step forward creating an enjoyable record. I do however have things that I didn't like the small number of actual songs but it is preferable to have fewer songs than just fillers. EVENOIRE should capitalize on their prime step and with more work and effort they can become a great band and end up as another NIGHTWISH / WITHIN TEMPTATION / AFTER FOREVER clone.