Echoes Of Eternity - The Forgotten Goddess
Nuclear Blast
Power Metal
10 songs ()
Release year: 2007
Nuclear Blast
Reviewed by Ben

Echoes Of Eternity are one of the newest faces in the Power Metal pond with their debut The Forgotten Goddess. Their music is a mixture of aggressive riffing that borders thrash, lilting airy female vocals that harken Liv Kristine from Leave’s Eyes and plenty of time and tempo changes to make sure the listener is still paying attention. Unlike most bands which employ a singer with two “x” chromosomes, Echoes of Eternity don’t relegate the band to mere lackey status. Expressions Of Flesh, Voices In A Dream, and Garden Of The Gods have some healthy sounding guitar riffs that might actually cause the listener to headbang. Solos are aplenty and are actually impressive. Not only are the guitar riffs old school but so are the solos. They are planned and executed well and are a nice addition to the sound of the band. The vocals are of the soft variety. Singer Francine has a delicate quality to her voice that makes me want to get my nearest black corset and go prance in the woods. She sings quite well and her voice is not lacking. However, due to her method of singing, the songs tend to follow a formula throughout the course of the album. Heavy, bad ass guitars open almost every track and then when the vocals come into the picture the pace is dropped, the reins are pulled back, and the spotlight is taken away from the band and placed on Francine. Despite her great voice she sings in the same manner throughout the entire disc and when taken for a full drive around town this tends to drag down each individual song and turns the album into one long song. Another thing that needs mentioning is that the mix of the cd is kind of odd. While many bands out there tend to record each instrument at a different studio they still sound like they’re in the same room when the disc is pressed. Here however it seems that the guys are playing in another room and the vocals are being piped in through a PA somehow. This sense of disconnection, once noticed, is really distracting and sounds mechanical and sterile.

Despite the flaws that appear The Forgotten Goddess does have some quality moments surrounded by heaps of potential. I have to give a little bit of credit for having Francine sing some lyrics in her native French, this adds a bit of cultural flair. For round number two I think the band as a whole need to stretch themselves a bit. There needs to be more vocal variety, increased attention to the guitars, and more solos! You can never have too many guitar solos especially with guys as good as this band has. And also, a better mixer behind the board would be appreciated as well. Echoes Of Eternity is still young so obviously they have time to evolve and develop. I wonder how the extensive touring they have lined up will influence the next album whenever that comes out. Based on the potential I see here I’ll actually be there to pick it up too.

Killing Songs :
Voices In A Dream, Expressions Of Flesh, The Kingdom Within
Ben quoted 68 / 100
Other albums by Echoes Of Eternity that we have reviewed:
Echoes Of Eternity - As Shadows Burn reviewed by Goat and quoted 69 / 100
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There are 2 replies to this review. Last one on Mon Jul 30, 2007 8:28 pm
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