“Eden’s Fall” marks a new chapter in Elferya’s life, not just for being the successor of the debut “The Straight and Narrow” but also for featuring a new singer. A new drummer as well, but since Greg Turini wasn’t exactly the main composer of the band, and neither is the new guy Samuel Python, the effect of this replacement will hardly be a milestone in Elferya’s musical outcome. Let’s then focus on the latter.
After the title-track intro – which honestly sounds just like any other symphonic power metal intro – comes the promotional single “With All My Love”, meaning they (or the label) thought this was the best song in the album. Maybe they’re right, but at the same time, stretching the melody for almost six minutes with little variation within it isn’t exactly a bonus. The chorus is catchy, though.
They make the same “mistake” twice more, with “Cruel Night” and “The Dreamcatcher”, although the latter has an interesting instrumental piece towards the end. Still, it would be more pleasant if it were shorter. Luckily, this pursuit of epic themes stops here and the rest of the songs is quite pleasant, remembering there’s a reason for the word “power” to stand between “symphonic” and “metal”.
The violin is a nice touch. Sure, not a first in this genre, but classy nevertheless – and there’s only so much one can do to be original and stay loyal to their nature. “Eden’s Fall” may not be “album of the year” material, but all symphonic lovers out there will probably have a good time listening to it.
6/10
Words by: Renata Lino
