Since the coming of the earlier extreme Metal bands with female vocals (it seems that HOLY MOSES was the first, fronted by Sabina Classen), things improved a lot. Angela Gossow, Cadaveria, Alissa White-Gluz and others came to be references in Metal scene, but sometimes, it seems that the female singers all came bounded by 'models' of singing, and forgot the way to expand frontiers, to sing on their own way. But some bands show that things can be expanded, as the Polish trio ETHEREAL EXILE. And their first release, the album "Soul Beyond Time" shows a band that really can be great.

On the seven songs of the album, they show a different insight on Melodic Death Metal that it's not usual to bands with female singers: it's not extreme technical or clean. It shows a good technical level, but their work sounds bit rawer and bearing a filthy feeling that it's known on Swedish first wave of Melodic Death Metal. Their musical work isn't old fashioned or moldy, but pulses with energy and life, with very good melodies. Besides it can become better in the future, they're in the right way, taking distance from the modern Death Metal insight used by Polish bands.

Aurora (the band's singer) worked on the production (and did the artwork as well), and Aron (the guitarist/bassist) made the mixing and mastering, so the band had full control of what is presented on the album. The production isn't 100% matching on what the band's music needs, being a bit rawer than the needed, but not in a way that their songs couldn't be understood. It's good, but not perfect.

Their 7 songs sound spontaneous and free of many bounding conceptions, and it needs further polishing to be in the right point, but the fine mixing between hooking melodies and aggressiveness of "Infinity Mirror" and "The Hermit" (excellent guitar riffs on both songs), the catchy tempos of "Tears of Rage" (very good work from bass guitar and drums), the very good technical work of "Six Day Mark", and the oppressive ambience of "Lucid Birth of Night" (the vocals are using very good grunts, but with some screams that fits perfectly, along with very good melodic guitar solos) are examples of a very good name arising from the underground.

So as "Soul Beyond Time" shows ETHEREAL EXILE as a revelation, it points to a promising future for the trio, it makes the listeners hope for many improvements that they are more than capable to do.