Last time I remember myself reviewing an album from some Metal band hailing from mother Russia was (probably) back in 2001 when I dealt with Rossomahaar's Imperium Tenebrarum. But that was a long time ago, wasn't it? This time the band's name's The Aerium and their game is Heavy/Power Metal with operatic female vocals. Or so it seems to be at least...
This band of five was theoretically born in 2001. Three of the band members, (Alex, Andrew and Kirill) had already been playing together since 1999 in a project band called Version. Two years later they decided to begin a new project, quite different from the previous one and in 2002 Igor and Veronika joined the band. The first recorded song was The Bones, but it wasn't included in a demo that followed shortly after. Song For The Dead King was the first song which categorized the band's style. At the end of 2002 The Aerium recorded their first demo-CD which included three songs (Song For The Dead King, Sentinel and Wanderer). In 2004 and in search of a record label they recorded the 40-minute long Song For The Dead King album which eventually bought them a ticket for a ride with the uprising and powerful (Greek) Metal label Black Lotus Records.
And here I am now reviewing their debut album release. First impression I got while listening to Song For The Dead King was that its production is really, really bad...which is certainly not a good thing for a first impression. All the instruments sound as if they were recorded on one of these tiny synthesizers made for kids that go to kinder garden (brought to you by Matel). Damn, I mean this is not a demo CD, come on! I've heard demo CDs sound way better than this, production-wise. Because I'll tell you this: when an album's production's all really bad overall, any skill any of the band members might possess passes distinguishingly unnoticed through the ears of whoever's listening to it. And that's totally unfair for both the band but also for the label. Why? Because the CD won't sell. Why? Did you notice my Matel comment?
Sevostjanova's vocals are indeed close to what you'd call operatic. She seems to be influenced by female singers like Nightwish's Tarja Turunen and Leaves' Eyes Liv Kristine Espenaes Krull (gosh, her last name is indeed that long...) but point is that she needs lots of practice (when I say lots, I mean lots). Though she did impress me a bit, I must admit, on one song. And that song I'm referring to is generally the only song off Song For The Dead King that sort of made a good impression on me (or inside my ears...) and it's name's Wanderer.
In a nutshell: Terribly bad production on their debut effort (I think I've made that quite clear throughout my review). They should be given a better chance, a second album but with a crystal clear production because crystal clear productions are meant to suit bands in the vein of The Aerium. Sevostjanova should study classical singing (or opera) if she really wants to achieve reaching high levels. Don't forget that singers like Tarja or Liv Kristine have studied real hard in life to attain the skills they now have.