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Amederia > Sometimes We Have Wings... > Reviews
Amederia - Sometimes We Have Wings...

Too Much Piano... Too Much, Really - 50%

Sean16, March 28th, 2021
Written based on this version: 2020, CD, BadMoodMan Music

Writing this Inborn Suffering review last day made me reflect on the various Draconian siblings that sprouted during the second half of the 2000s. A surprising trend, in retrospect, for, regardless of how great their early works sounded, Draconian weren’t that innovative to begin with – pretty much a softer My Dying Bride, with an emphasis on keyboards, and additional female vocals. Nevertheless, over the years the Swedish act has become the standard against which a particular brand of bands in the gothic-doom scene has been evaluated, and, as a typical sample of said brand, here comes Amederia from Russia, perhaps not the most famous of the Draconian clones, but one of the most reminiscent of the original... which makes, by comparison, its weaknesses all the more obvious.

Consider the piano, for instance. Powerful instrument, no doubt; one of the very few which can fit in almost every existing music genre, and one of the most suitable to easily shape a romantic atmosphere. No surprise, then, that Draconian made extensive use of it on their debut, and so will Amederia on theirs, too. Only, with much less subtlety. Piano the intro, piano the outro. That’s, combined, already eleven minutes of bare piano, not exactly of Chopin complexity, not exactly of mind-blowing inspiration; the kind working well as a one-minute break in the middle of a more ambitious song, less well as a stand-alone feature. Add this to the fact Cold Emptiness is an exclusively ambient keyboard / piano number, primarily fronted by spoken male vocals, and it amounts to no less than one third of the total album content which doesn’t feature a single guitar chord, which doesn’t propose anything remotely close to metal of any sort. Some will argue that these tracks may still find some use as light relaxation music. Perhaps – but Sometimes We Have Wings was supposed to be a gothic doom metal recording, so please give us all the piano, violin and ethereal female voice you want... as long as these are topping big, fat, crushing riffs. Crushing. Riffs.

Now, while the four remaining songs are undoubtedly metal, let’s admit they aren’t the most remarkable in terms of big, fat and crushing, either. That’s where the integral Draconian worship takes place, were it intentional or not – roughly 50/50 mixture of low-growled male vocals and fragile, high-pitched female vocals: check, slow atmospheric doom riffs: check, dying angels: check. Doomed Ground is by far the most accomplished track, even if the brief violin bit at the beginning only reinforces the Draconian reference; the only track, in fact, where the balance between the different ingredients – ominous riffing, contrasting vocal duets, crystalline piano – is kept more or less right. By contrast, in the short, vivid Dreams which follows, it is once again a far too omnipresent piano which drives the melody, the guitars serving as mere backing instruments; prepared this way, the stew seriously lacks of meat. And so do the last two real songs, And so I... and My Soul, which in spite of a well-rendered melancholic mood, too often lose themselves in long, useless keyboard digressions, leaving an impression of largely unfocused writing.

A frustrating result, for Amederia otherwise showed undeniable assets, while lacking the experience needed to properly exploit them. The singers first deserve a particular mention, especially the raucous growled male vocalist, his female counterpart appearing a tad too often shrill and approximate – nothing insufferable, yet. The riffs which can still be painfully extracted between two exhausting keyboard sessions sound as oppressive as can be, the leads, should they unfold, majestic, and even inspired at times. When the bass is occasionally put on the forefront, like in Dreams, or towards the end of Doomed Ground, it is with a loud, organic sound, which could have become a strong selling point, if only it had been put to better use. All elements that come back regularly enough to prevent the listener from definitely giving up, though not enough to arouse any feeling in him beyond a polite, but formulaic approval.

All in all, Sometimes... is in no way a disastrous release. Only, as a debut effort from a then young band, it betrays every bar its immaturity. Thus, I’d advise not to bother with that one, but rather check its follower which, while based on the exact same formula, sounds much more efficient.

Highlights: Doomed Ground

Familiarity Is Not A Bad Thing - 81%

Khull, November 20th, 2009

I’m a sucker for a good piano; when properly played this instrument can convey an astoundingly wide range of emotions, but none as exquisite as those of somber and dreary. When I first started up Amederia’s debut Sometimes We Have Wings, and those delectable, saddening piano keys played their heart-wrenching notes, I knew this Russian gothic doom outfit would be a treat to listen to.

Listeners will notice immediately the similarities existing between Amederia and Draconian, and indeed it would be a shame if these similarities weren’t clear, for Draconian is specifically cited as an influence. I might even go as far as to say worship; however, I fear that will give readers the wrong idea. I’ll spare you the compare and contrast thesis and keep it simple: While Draconian were more in favor of the ultra distorted and occasional keyboard bombast, Amederia take the calmer path of quieter, cleaner guitars and subtle piano and synth melodies. The former emphasizes the doom portion whereas the later emphasizes the gothic portion.

Despite the enjoyment I get from listening to Sometimes We Have Wings, there are a couple aspects that still rub me the wrong way. The biggest issue I have with this album is the male vocals. They aren’t bad per-se; low pitched growling that one would expect from such a band. No, the issue I have with them is my mind cannot help but associate them with that of Johan Hegg – I really hate to say that, but I sincerely hope I’m not the only one to make this association. The other issue is much less tongue-in-cheek, and that would be the lyrics. I’m as fond of the typical gloom and doom lyrics typical to the music as the next guy, but some verses come off as a little forced, to say the least.

Unfortunately, these folks don’t offer anything outstandingly original in the way of gothic / doom, but this isn’t necessarily a negative – hear me out. As I said, Amederia bears a striking similarity between their Swedish predecessors Draconian, specifically Where Lovers Mourn-era. I find this to be a sound that’s distinctly lacking in this area of metal. Indeed, one simply cannot rattle off, “So, here is a list of bands that sound like Draconian. Enjoy!” because such a list doesn’t extend beyond half of a handful. Because of that, it’s always welcome when another rare band can be added.

I believe Amederia are capable of growing into their own distinct sound. This is a solid gothic / doom release that’s worthy of a listen. There’s definite potential for something awesome here, one has only to listen to In…, Doomed Ground, and And So I to realize this; I hope they’re able to pull it off in future releases. The recommendation goes out to fans of gothic doom; who enjoy the beauty and the beast vocal duet, and won’t turn away at the hint of a few clichés here and there. Like I said, this one is worth your time to play through the whole way.

A Doom/Gothic Hybrid Done Right. - 80%

Perplexed_Sjel, November 19th, 2009

Whenever I’m feeling musically adventurous, I go in search of bands outside of my comfort zone (black metal). Outside of that specified genre, I’m not overly familiar with the majority of metal sub-genre. I have a soft spot for gothic music, since this genre actually laid down some of the foundations for my personal love of metal. In the beginning, gothic music was something that I openly enjoyed, but as time dragged on, I began to neglect the genre in favour of others, such as black metal, my main preference nowadays. Exploring gothic music is no longer as natural to me as it used to be, so I try to explore it through associated bands, hybrids and social networking sites like Last FM, through which I have discovered many new bands. In fact, I discovered Amederia through Last FM having seen them listed as a similar artist to How Like A Winter, another hybrid I also thoroughly enjoy. Though I consider it unfair to label a band a “clone” of another, the Russian hybrid of doom and gothic sound similar to the Italian band of the same style. The two have closely related styles of music, forming a sound of juxtaposed stories. As with How Like A Winter, Amederia utilise the formulaic approach of female and male dual vocals. The female vocalist is almost always employed to provide the beauty in regards to the vocal portrayal and the male is assured of his position as the figurehead for the doom elements.

Certain aspects of the instrumentation also join forces with these vocal styles, one being operatic and the other being in the form of harsh growls. For example, the softer elements of the instrumental projection will join the female vocalist to form an alliance that serves to provide the bulk of the lighter melodies. These aspects include the bass, areas of the percussion and the imperative keyboards which provide lightly textured synths and piano passages that work well alongside the haunting portrayal that the harsher elements design within the detailed soundscapes. The harsher elements, unfortunately, usually generate a much more generic vibe behind the softer, more impacting sounds that offers a crescendo of soothing melodies. I understand that one section is meant to convey a completely different sound, whilst still maintaining the original message that is also kept alive in the other juxtaposed methods, but it is inevitable that one side would provide the bulk of the negatives when placed side-by-side with the positive sections. ‘Sometimes We Have Wings’, the 2008 debut from the Russian band whose formation came around in 2006, have a set pattern and with it comes a sense of predictability, but the detailed, layered song writing makes this an interesting record regardless of the fact that it can be, at times, rather formulaic and reliant on old methods to win other a harsh crowd.

There are a few pleasing elements both internally and externally that I wish to point out. First, the bands profile picture. Generally speaking, metal bands with female musicians tend to stick her in the limelight and thus, this undermines the performances of the men on show. The female vocal performance is usually the main area in which a gothic band generally tries to win over their doubters. For me, this ploy is outdated. It is no longer a great surprise that most gothic bands, be it hybrid or not, have a female vocalist on offer. In fact, it’s slightly predictable. Having said that, I do not begrudge female vocalists for simply being in the gothic scene. I often like the female voice intermingled with harsh metal moments but, sometimes, the female performance can become the be-all and end-all of life and when it doesn’t live up to almost unsurpassable expectations, their performance is deemed ineffective and disappointing. So, when a female member manages to slot into the performance nicely, without overshadowing the other elements with her powerful operatic drive vocals, then I am ready to dish out the plaudits. Amederia, despite their flat production style which doesn’t give the guitars much emotional leeway, don’t allow the vocal performance of their female member to outshine the other elements and, instead, she works harmoniously alongside the softer elements like the piano passages and the poignant synths which are lightly sprinkled on the surface of the material.

This works well for Amederia who are now offering a solemn performance all round, especially in regards to these softer elements which, surprisingly, outshine the harsher aspects in terms of making the sullen approach reverberate into the minds of the listener, lingering for long afterwards as we struggle to contain the beauty of several aspects of ‘Sometimes We Have Wings’ as shown on the all instrumental affair of ‘In…’ and again with ‘Lovely Angels’, two pieces which combines the piano passages with the synths, all generated by the wondrous keyboards. Though I don’t consider these two song integral to the record as a whole, though do demonstrate that Amederia can think outside the box and is a good reflection of my aforementioned statement about the fact that they also display some creativity. ‘Doomed Ground’ is a good representative of when the subtle gothic elements meet the vigorous doom elements. At their best, these two sections create an immense prospect similar to bands like Draconian and How Like A Winter. Given all the struggles the band has had to deal with since their formation, they have done tremendously well to create this passionate record which only slowly sinks in. An exciting career, potentially, awaits this band of Russian brothers and sisters.