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Melancolia > The Dark Reflection of Your Soul > Reviews
Melancolia - The Dark Reflection of Your Soul

Undiscovered Canada. - 80%

Perplexed_Sjel, March 3rd, 2010

Seven agonising years is a long time to spend “perfecting” a record. Well, that is precisely how long it had taken Eric Saumier before he finally unleashed his self-produced and self-released debut, ‘The Dark Reflections of Your Soul’. In his own words, Saumier believes he has gotten the very best out of his abilities on this record and, having spent seven years writing and recording, you would want to walk away feeling that you did the best you could with what you had. I always feel it necessary to give extra kudos to bands who successfully manage to manoeuvre away from the majority of problematic issues that can negatively affect a record, such as poor production values which limit the accessibility of the material. Especially when it comes to acts of this mould - those which express a symphonic side - as they require a clean and clear path with which to wander down from and into the long-term memory of the listener. Unlike many bands of this nature, Saumier doesn’t reflect an overriding, overbearing happiness in the symphonic ploys. There are a range of emotional ideas displayed here, expressing with it the true variety that comes with listening to this record. It doesn’t have a problem with mixing and matching either, portraying feels of loneliness and general problems with the self all at once.

Instead, there is a despairing, solemn and sullen feel to the material present here, including within the imaginative keyboards which express a wicked taste for variation. From darker realms of symphonic music to a light, airier sound, Saumier definitely has a talent for incorporating mesmerising keyboards into an extravagant mixture. I can pin point moments in all songs on the record, of which there are nine, including several lengthy epics, such as ‘The Taste of You’, where Saumier allows the keyboards to overwhelm the other areas of the instrumentation without overwhelming the listener and suffocating them with too many divergent symphonies which detract from the rest of the music. The keyboards are a central figure throughout the record, as shown from the very first moments on ‘Les Étoiles Aspirent Ma Vie’ which highlights the use of the many techniques which Saumier uses throughout. From the glittering atmospherics provided by the shimmering keyboards, to the hardened sections provided by the drums - which are a weak point for me, I’m afraid - to the guitars and even the strange vocals, which seem to find themselves combining the sound of iconic black metal rasps and screams.

This song definitely indicates a strong dark metal influence, as it weaves in and out of genres and sub-genres with consummate ease, highlighting potential death metal segments with stuttering drums and aggressive guitars. Although this may be the case, other genres are well represented too, with the softer elements, such as the bass, which features prominently, as indicated beautifully on ‘Les Étoiles Aspirent Ma Vie’, to the keyboards (which don’t always feature soaring soundscapes, as they also tend to lightly sprinkle the background with soft touches of melody). As I touched upon earlier, I do feel that there are a few negative aspects of this record. The drums feel too synthetic throughout. The general instrumentation is meant to be the epitome of beauty, but the drums have a different texture to them which is vastly different from the rest. The patterns tend to stick out like a sore thumb, especially when the vocals subside, which they do often. Songs like ‘Spiritus Ubi Vult Spirat’ are completely instrumental and neatly organise controlled chaos in the form of theatrical symphonies which remind me of epic movie soundtracks to grand films about mystical kingdoms, home to all sorts of dangerous, eerie and surreal creatures., or even bands like Tartaros who have pivotal keyboards, central to the themes explored.

Regardless of what is to follow on from the first few moments of this emotionally draining piece, there is no doubt that Saumier has gotten the best out of the production he had available to him. I assume he had to do everything on the cheap and despite this, he has still managed to come away with a lot of credibility because he is undoubtedly a talented song writer with vision and an originality which is sorely missing from many bands in existence by in the past and in the present. As well as being so-called musical genius, Saumier also has time to run his own record label, Winterart. He is definitely a talented man, it must be said. I just hope it doesn’t take him seven years in between each record. Though you can never put a time limit on adventurous records such as this. Certainly a beautiful record, definitely accessible despite the limitations and generally quite luscious in its attempt to explore varied, innovative atmospheres.

Melancholy, Beauty, Insanity - 100%

WilliamAcerfeltd, April 8th, 2008

I heard a sample of this album when I bought my Svartsyn CD. How? It came with a metal observer CD and I finally got around to playing it. It featured a two minute version of the song: The Dark Reflections of Your soul. It was the best song on the CD and I was pretty annoyed that they had cut down the best song from 7 minutes to 2 and a half minutes. Needless to say after I heard that song, I was hooked.

Now, about a year later (and after a lot of trouble) I managed to get my hands on a copy of this album. I was admittedly excited about finally being able to listen to it. It was only a matter of days before I got around to listening to it (with most CD's it takes me a usually a couple of weeks at least before I finally getting around to listening to them). Before I put the CD on I said to myself "OK breathe deep and brace yourself." Well, at the end of the CD I was left saying to myself: "how come that CD never blew me away?" I felt a little bit let down; after The Dark Reflections of Your Soul was an awesome song and the album only seemed to be a good album, not great.

I decided I would give the album a couple more listens (as you usually do) before I passed final judgement on it and I have to say now that this really is a great album. The album is 69 minutes long and has a metal component and an ambient component as well. The ambience accounts for about 10 minutes or so and the other 59 minutes is metal.

This album is great melodic black metal. It has great riffs and great keyboard melodies. The whole thing is totally original. The drumming is also pretty good, its technical and interesting, although I'm not sure if the Eric is using a drum machine or not, but does it really matter? The vocals are good, although they don't seem to be used all that much. There are actually two instrumental songs on this album both are quite long.

The ambience is OK, it's really the only complaint I have against the album. There is too much of it. Sometimes, the song can really be building to something and then you hear the sound of crickets chirping or rain. However, there are some really cool sounds to be found on this album.

This is a very interesting, good and at times beautiful album. I suggest you listen to it alone on a cold night to really get to the most out of the atmosphere this album creates. This is one of the most underrated albums, arguably ever and we all know that’s a cliché, but here it isn't.

If you're getting jaded with metal, I recommend you check this out. Give it some time, you won’t be disappointed.

Conclusion: The above is recommended for purchase only.

Beauty - 100%

Noktorn, February 9th, 2007

Q: How pretty can metal be?

A: This pretty.

As one delves deeper and deeper into the metal scene, one frequently becomes preoccupied with ugliness and all its variations. Be it Planet AIDS' crumbling drone apocalypse, Intestinal Disgorge's shrieking, gore-drenched musical suicide, or Senthil's traipses into the realm of utter negativity, it seems that as one discovers more of our music, one distances oneself from simple aesthetic beauty. There does seem to be a revival of sorts in the classical appearance of beauty within metal: the success of artists like Wood Of Ypres can testify that such a concept has not been forgotten. However, I believe that if enough people hear it, Melancolia's 'The Dark Reflections Of Your Soul' will be the album to bring heavy metal back to the purity of heart that now seemingly lies dormant within the community.

Have you ever become so overcome with the beauty of the world that it seems nearly too much for you alone to handle? Have you ever been overwhelmed by sakura blossoms in the spring, by an incredible story in a much-loved book, by conversation with a lover? These are the moments that this album reflects. Entirely devoid of two of what many would say are the most defining elements of metal, darkness and aggression, 'The Dark Reflections Of Your Soul' strips away our preconceived notions of what metal should or should not be, and leaves an album of absolute purity yet entrancing complexity. This genuinely is an album that defies any sort of genre classification; while vague words such as 'progressive', 'metal', or 'melodic' can be thrown around, but none of these can truly capture the essence of the music on this recording. Perhaps my previous statement is a misnomer: this album does indeed contain aggression, but it is an aggression born out of fervor and zeal towards life and the very act of living to its fullest. This is absolutely the soundtrack to self-discovery and positive introspection.

Melodies weave in and out and leave trails of glorious musical mist in their wake, and yet possess an stunning fragility to their construction, as if they were each very gently plucked from the sonic aether, hand-picked for what could best represent the very essence of beauty in music. I fear describing the music of this release excessively: I truly believe that too much study of its structure could damage its artistic beauty and leave one unable to fully appreciate what is contained herein. This is not an album for study, for tabbing, for rewinding and analyzing: no, this is an album to wash over you like a wave of pure, concentrated light, that is both fragile and powerful. Elements that will be noticed: melodies that never repeat, only evolve; immensely complex rhythms; songs that have neither beginning nor ending, and like Israel's Animus only represent a fragment from a greater stream of music. While this album is split into nine separate tracks, it is actually composed of individual pieces held only loosely together by the most tenuous and airy of keyboard-based ambient segments.

Over and over, I've repeated one word to describe this album to friends: pure. It is the essence of what 'good' is; not a part of any religious morality, but instead the essence of what is correct and right for the world and for ourselves. Nearly like Lykathea Aflame in this way, Melancolia leaves one feeling refreshed and more ready to face and embrace life's challenges than ever. I can't imagine a single person denying the power of tracks like 'The Taste Of You', the melodies of which are both ancient and futuristic and could easily be identified with by any listener with an open mind and heart. This is music of passion, of delight in the possibilities of the world, of a willing ignorance of difficulty being a negative thing. This is such a pretty album. Simple yet complex, savage yet passive, everything and nothing at once: an entity of utterly hypnotizing and delighting brilliance.

This is an album that ostensibly took seven years to create. This is not true; 'The Dark Reflections Of Your Soul' is beyond time or judgment or linearity: it is instead a timeless thing that has been, is, and shall be: the very essence of what it means to be a human.

(Originally written for www.grindingtheapparatus.net)