This is not an easy task for a French young band to convince the skeptical crowd, it's even more difficult if the music played isn't exactly tagged clearly: it's the case with SAINTE OMBRE: a uncommon mix of Gothic French poetry with some elegant Symphonic orchestrations, Progressive Arrangements uplifted with a few Power Metal flavors yet embellished by a more direct impact straight out of the Hard Rock tradition. This album enigmatically titled "Cornélia" is a concept album, obscure or even ambiguous and in order to add another difficulty the fact is that SAINTE OMBRE use the talent of a girl at the frontman post without being a NIGHTWISH clone or something like that.

The French language is intensively used here, with its density and it's deepness, it must clearly found another layer of mystery in this subversive tale, where the dauntless Cornélia is the main character, indomitable and time and time again bewildering, shocking or touching , sometimes soothing but always very erotic ! This is the album number two, for SAINT OMBRE, their already successful debut "Contes Et Châtiments" was the blueprint for "Cornélia" that is obviously a step higher, the sound is now thicker , the production is more actual and the performances are tighter. The addition of a male guest vocalist is a good move , and it gave another dimension to the song "Par Le Sang", the vocals provided by Nicolas Blaizeau (KOB / KEROZEN) are powerful and perfectly integrated in the perplexing atmosphere of "Cornélia".

This album require a open mind and a true artistic interactivity, but it can push you to an alternated state and it will reveal a strong addictive attraction despite the puzzling themes and the constant switching in the different moods. Definitively not an easy task for SAINTE OMBRE but I suppose that they are already in fine shape to fight on every Metal stage all over the world to prove that their "Cornélia" is worth your attention.