{"id":32570,"date":"2013-10-24T15:59:43","date_gmt":"2013-10-24T20:59:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=32570"},"modified":"2014-02-08T08:38:21","modified_gmt":"2014-02-08T13:38:21","slug":"sirens-cry-scattered-horizons-cd-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2013\/sirens-cry-scattered-horizons-cd-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Siren\u2019s Cry | Scattered Horizons<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

\"Siren'sSiren\u2019s Cry is the latest band to make their way into the now crowded symphonic power metal scene with their debut full length album entitled Scattered Horizons<\/em>. The Austrian band\u2019s music is a melding of symphonic, progressive, and power metal, and delivered with technical precision and passion. The influences of Symphony X, Dream Theater, Epica and Nightwish are immediately apparent, but Siren\u2019s Cry blazes its own path in search of a unique sound. With lyrics inspired by magic and myth, Siren\u2019s Cry does a nice job exploring the darker realms of the musical landscape.<\/p>\n

The band is fronted by Katie Joanne, a fine singer with a strong voice and broad range. She can hit all the required highs and lows, and drifts to the edge of operatic many times while always remaining clear and understandable. The guitars are handled ably by Phillip Porter, who also co-produced the album with Joanne. He seems to be able to do it all from chunky riffs to soaring technical solos without letting the guitar dominate the music, allowing the technical abilities of the other performers to shine through. Michael Siskov provides the keys, and he also is a do-it-all musician. The keyboards are as vital as the guitars to the music, but like Porter\u2019s guitars they do not drown out the rest of the band. Frederic Br\u00fcnner (drums) and S\u00f6ren Skupien (bass) provide the bottom end, and they work well as a team whether dealing out aggressive, galloping rhythms or soft, flowing passages.<\/p>\n

\u201cIntroitus\u201d opens the album, but the keyboard backed audio snippet track runs on for more than a minute and a half \u2013 significantly longer than it needs to be to set the tone for the album. Fortunately this is the only weak spot on the release. \u201cSeven\u201d really kicks the album off with a long instrumental rife with progressive style tempo changes that carry into the vocal portions of the song. Borrowing a page from symphonic metal\u2019s Epica, the band seems to throw everything but the kitchen sink in to this track including some lyrics in Latin. \u201cOratory & Sins\u201d is a brutally powerful guitar track, while the lyrics of \u201cElegy of R\u2019lyeh\u201d will be instantly familiar to fans of H.P. Lovecraft\u2019s Cthulhu novels. \u201cDraconian Spectrum\u201d is a dragon inspired prog anthem with very strong vocals and vivid lyrics.<\/p>\n

\u201cCold Amber & Scalding Tears\u201d is a beautifully written and performed ballad showcasing the vocal talents of Katie Joanne. It also features amazing keyboards and a truly inspired guitar solo. The epic \u201cSahara Sagas\u201d is based on the framing story of Scheherazade and King Shahry\u0101r from the literary classic One Thousand and One Nights. The edgy guitar work coordinated well with bass and drums making this track a classic in its own right. The power metal \u201cSerpents of War\u201d blends intense guitars and keys over a galloping bass and drum line, while the varied and dynamic \u201cA Controversial Mind\u201d dances along the edge of sanity to close out the release.<\/p>\n

Scattered Horizons is a fine symphonic \/ progressive power metal CD, surprisingly tight, well produced, and well written for a debut album. Siren\u2019s Cry will be a hit with fans of the genre but might disappoint fans looking for something other than standard fare. While the music is strong and flawlessly performed, the band does not truly cover any new ground \u2013 which is not necessarily a bad thing. Siren\u2019s Cry seems to have the talent to push the envelope, but they have chosen not to for their debut. Hopefully they will really find their legs on their next release and expand the boundaries of the genre. Scattered Horizons is definitely recommended for fans of progressive, power and symphonic metal!<\/p>\n

Genre: Progressive Power, Symphonic Metal<\/p>\n

Band:
\nKatie Joanne (vocals, choir vocals)
\nFrederic Br\u00fcnner (drums)
\nS\u00f6ren Skupien (bass)
\nPhillip R. Porter (guitars, choir vocals)
\nMichael A. Siskov (keyboards, choir vocals)
\nAdditional performers: Simon Holzknecht (bass on 6), Frank Pitters & Monika Medek (choir vocals on 4 & 5)<\/p>\n

Track Listing:
\n1.\tIntroitus
\n2.\tSeven
\n3.\tOratory & Sins
\n4.\tElegy of R\u2019lyeh
\n5.\tDraconian Spectrum
\n6.\tCold Amber & Scalding Tears
\n7.\tSahara Sagas Pt I
\nI.\tOverture \u2013 Sands of Time
\nII.\tBeyond the Veil
\nIII.\tThe Unraveling
\nIV.\tShahry\u0101r – The Great King
\nV.\tAstray
\n8.\tSerpents of War
\n9.\tA Controversial Mind<\/p>\n

Label: Nightmare Records<\/p>\n

Website: http:\/\/www.sirenscry.com\/band.html<\/a><\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven rating: 8 \/ 10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Joe Mis – Senior Columnist — Siren\u2019s Cry is the latest band to make their way into the now crowded symphonic power metal scene with their debut full length album entitled Scattered Horizons. The […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":32571,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8704],"tags":[2317,1680,1100],"class_list":{"0":"post-32570","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arcrvws2013","8":"tag-cd-review","9":"tag-nightmare-records","10":"tag-symphonic-metal"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32570","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=32570"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32570\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32571"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32570"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32570"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32570"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}