LYRIEL

‘Paranoid Circus’, which has a mix of rock, folk and classical influences, is the third album released by German band Lyriel. Overall, it possesses a dreamy hypnotic quality throughout much of the playing time, mainly due to the use of cello/violin and Jessica Thierjung's fragile sounding vocals. Following the spoken introductory piece, the track ‘Welcome’ clearly demonstrates this as do ‘The Feather In The Wind’ and ‘The Regret’. Certain tracks continue in this vein but also have a more grinding, rocking feel with ‘Elderberry And Lavender’, ‘Foeman's Bride’, ‘The Wolf’, the impressive ‘The Wheel Of Fortuna’ and the title track being prime examples. ‘Lullaby’ is a pleasant folk influenced ballad whilst ‘So Long’ is an excellent softer track, which is aided by a quirky rhythmic feel and this could quite possibly be the album's standout number. The short classical piece ‘The Way To Nowhere’ leads into the epic sounding ‘Another Time’. The light and heavy contrast displayed offers the greatest dynamic on the album. Lyriel's superbly performed and well crafted music is quite beautiful and enchanting at times but ‘Paranoid Circus’, although never less than good, does stick to a similar format throughout and features only a couple of standout tracks. In spite of this, any fan of female fronted music, particularly towards the lighter end of the market, should find Lyriel's overall sound an enjoyable listening experience.

LABEL:

FORMAT:

Femme Metal Records

Album

PARANOID CIRCUS

Review by Dave Crewe

RUNNING TIME:

47:36

RELEASE DATE:

1st Feb 2010

TRACK LISTING

1) The Opening; 2) Welcome
3) The Feather in the Wind
4) The Regret; 5) Elderberry and Lavender
6) Lullaby
7) Foeman's Bride; 8) The Wolf
9) So Long
10) My Unawakened Soul
11) Paranoid Circus
12) The Wheel of Fortuna
13) The Way to Nowhere
14) Another Time; 15) Closure

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:

Germany

"Lyriel's superbly performed and well crafted music is quite beautiful and enchanting at times..."