{"id":27847,"date":"2013-03-05T07:53:40","date_gmt":"2013-03-05T12:53:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=27847"},"modified":"2014-02-08T08:34:13","modified_gmt":"2014-02-08T13:34:13","slug":"godyva-alien-heart-cd-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2013\/godyva-alien-heart-cd-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Godyva | Alien Heart<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Joe Mis<\/span>
\n– Senior Columnist —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"AlienAlien Heart<\/em> is the new release from the Italian \u201cIntimate Gothic Metal\u201d act Godyva. Not many people will understand the \u201cintimate Gothic\u201d description \u2013 perhaps \u201cprogressive Gothic\u201d is a better term. Whatever else you choose to call it, Godyva\u2019s latest release must be called \u201cfantastic.\u201d The band\u2019s music runs the gamut from intense to mellow, metal to soft rock, and romantic to gritty \u2013 and all of it is handled well thanks to the amazingly versatile voice of lead singer Lady Godyva.<\/p>\n

Godyva dates back to 2000 when vocalist Lady Godyva joined up with a number of talented musicians in Bari, Italy. The band hit the studio in 2002 to record their Advent<\/em> EP, and then tracked their first full length release In Good and Evil<\/em> in 2006. They followed up with 2008\u2019s Planetarium, and now in 2013 Alien Heart<\/em>. The band went through a number of minor personnel changes during its decade-plus existence, but has become a truly veteran act. Founding members Lady Godyva (vocals), Enyo (drums), and Nick Barah (bass) are now joined by keyboard player Botys Beezart and guitarist G.G. Gohm \u2013 and they are a formidable five piece.<\/p>\n

Their music is a unique blend of Gothic metal and progressive metal with touches of new age and electronica. Styles range from ballad to full-on gothic metal, all engineered with power-metal precision and clarity. Their lyrics are much more upbeat and positive than most Gothic metal acts, and their songwriting skills are excellent, with all the bells and whistles expected of a modern metal act. Though varied in style, each track is tied to the other by the wonderful voice of Lady Godyva. Her range is broad and she seems fully comfortable whether singing a soft ballad or cranking it to near operatic power. The rest of the band is extremely talented as well, and they handle the multiple styles without any issues. Big guitar hooks, solid grooves from bass and drum and soaring keyboards all have their place, and all are used well. Think Lacuna Coil meets Linken Park\u2026<\/p>\n

The overall intensity and brooding tone of the opener \u201cApocalypse Fire\u201d set the stage for the balance of the album. Solid keyboards lead into powerful bass, drums, and guitars, and a sweeping vocal line carries the up-tempo rocker along nicely. \u201cNo Return\u201d is much more keyboard heavy and almost has a symphonic metal feel to it. The high energy opening leads to a more traditional gothic metal track with strong layered vocals over thick guitar riffs. Bass and drums are the driving force of \u201cAlien Heart,\u201d and the nice vocal duets throughout will remind the listener of Lacuna Coil\u2019s work. This track also features an excellent lead guitar break and a very well done piano passage. \u201cMy Earliest Memories\u201d is a lower key rocker that mixes intense guitar riffs with soft keyboards, and allows Lady Godyva to explore the softer end of her delivery. One of the real highlights of the album is the band\u2019s cover (and translation into English) of Italian pop-rocker Matia Bazar\u2019s \u201cTi Sento\u201d into the rollicking \u201cI Feel You.\u201d Lady Godyva pushes to near operatic at moments, but the band manages to keep a real pop feel throughout the track despite making it significantly heavier.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn Your Eyes\u201d opens the second half of the album, a simple and beautiful ballad – instrumentally, vocally and lyrically. \u201cEverything Is Over\u201d has a bit of a funk \/ blues bass groove, but becomes more of Linken Park influenced prog metal track with a bit of \u201crap-metal\u201d in the chorus. \u201cI Stay Here\u201d opens with a soft piano solo before becoming a totally bass driven soft rocker with strong vocal performances and a toe-tapping beat, while \u201cBrainstorm\u201d is an intense guitar track blending power and goth elements together. \u201cBrainstorm\u201d features the most expressive and powerful vocal performance on the release. \u201cThis Light\u201d is a power ballad featuring a hooky rhythm line and a sing-along chorus. The band reprises the opening track as a soft symphonic \/ orchestral metal piece in \u201cApocalypse Fire II (Grand Finale)\u201d. <\/p>\n

If you are looking for a lively and dynamic album, look no further than Godyva\u2019s latest release. Solid melodies, good songwriting, and top-notch technical performances make this a truly excellent release. There should be something in here to appeal to fans of almost every rock genre \u2013 it is much more than goth! Very highly recommended!<\/p>\n

Genre: \tIntimate Gothic Metal<\/p>\n

Band:
\nLady Godyva (vocals)
\nBotys Beezart (keyboards)
\nG.G. Gohm (guitars)
\nNick Barah (bass)
\nEnyo (drums)<\/p>\n

Track Listing:
\n1.\tApocalypse Fire
\n2.\tNo Return
\n3.\tAlien Heart
\n4.\tMy Earliest Memories
\n5.\tI Feel You (Ti Sento)
\n6.\tIn Your Eyes
\n7.\tEverything Is Over
\n8.\tI Stay Here
\n9.\tBrainstorm
\n10.\tThis Light
\n11.\tApocalypse Fire II (Grand Finale)<\/p>\n

Label: Scarlet Records<\/p>\n

Website: http:\/\/www.godyva.it\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven rating: 9.5\/10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Joe Mis – Senior Columnist — Alien Heart is the new release from the Italian \u201cIntimate Gothic Metal\u201d act Godyva. Not many people will understand the \u201cintimate Gothic\u201d description \u2013 perhaps \u201cprogressive Gothic\u201d is […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8704],"tags":[336,334,1838],"class_list":{"0":"post-27847","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-arcrvws2013","7":"tag-cd","8":"tag-review","9":"tag-scarlet-records"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27847","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27847"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27847\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27847"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27847"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27847"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}