RUINS OF ELYSIUM is an Epic Symphonic Metal band that is internationally based. These guys depend on classical music, Extreme Metal, soundtrack composition, J-Rock and geek culture to influence their style of metal. The vocals are solely tenor classical style, which isn't seen much in the world of metal. "Seeds of Chaos and Serenity" was released earlier in 2017. It comes in with eleven tracks and a listening time of an hour and 15 minutes. I'm sure this will be an epic and unique experience, the metal world may or may not be ready for.

The opening track "Kama Sutra" comes in having a Middle Eastern flare. The drums quickly escalate this track from its acoustic glory, to a more Symphonic feel. The tenor vocals come in and honestly take a bit of getting used to. While it's not uncommon to have female clean vocals in Symphonic Metal, it is very uncommon to have only clean male vocals. Now, I'm not saying we never hear it, we just don't like this. There are some clean female orchestral vocals that bring a phenomenal integration of more Middle Eastern flare back into the track. The vocals seem to be highlighted versus being intertwined within the music as a whole, being plopped down on top of the music instead of being integrated with it. The guitars are buried, but the synths are really great. There is a lot going on in this track but it is completely creative and does deserve it's due.

"Shadow of The Colossus", track two, opens with beautiful synths that make you feel like you're in the green fields in Hobbiton. The bird's songs could also be why that's where I went, but I digress. As the track progressed I still felt the lingering presence of greenery and sunshine. The beauty of this track lays within the synths. While the musicianship is here and the track is strong: the best piece of this is Ravelo's work, again.

Track four, "Beyond the Witching Hour" is a little harder, and has a bit of a Power feel behind it. The beginning sounds somewhat like a movie track. The drums are exquisite and we finally get a bit more guitar up front and center. The vocals are still laid on top, but feel more disjointed from the rest of the track. I love the energy that comes from this one, though. It is active and heavy. There are some incredible growled vocals here as well and you can feel the climax where both vocals meet for just a moment. Then, we are met with a weird incremental growth turning the piece into a discombobulated mess, until the slowdown later in the piece that brings it back on track.

"Iris", track five, is a short interlude that is quite beautiful. It creates a bit of a break and is completely composition, sending the listener even deeper into their journey. While the entire track is phenomenal, the drums really set it off. "Iris" flows effortlessly into "The Birth of a Goddess", easily one of my favorite intros of a track in this album.

This is the part of the album that we enter a different story. A story told in five tracks that could have been on a totally different album and worked. This part of the album alone is over half of the album time. These tracks are a mixture of light and fluidity and dark and hardness. I believe that these tracks symbolize life in its ever ebbing and flowing way. The music in each and every track is hypnotizing and meditative. The final track "Seeds of Chaos and Serenity Arc V - Stars" is my favorite of the five, sending the album out with a beautiful message to the universe.

I am a little conflicted because RUINS OF ELYSIUM pride themselves on being one of the only bands in the Symphonic Metal genre that has a professional classical vocalist as their lead vocals. His voice is beautiful. The musicianship is masterful. The two together takes a bit of getting used to. The production is also a little off, with what sounds like the vocals just being laid in versus being intertwined in the music. This could be a reason it takes much longer to get acclimated with just a different vocal type being used regularly through. "Seeds Of Chaos and Serenity" is a good album, but does have some jerk neck reactions in places and a mid-level production quality. Still, give it a try, you could be surprised.