SIRENIA

Arcane Astral Aeons

NAPALM Shape-shiftng symphonic metallers go overboard on the bombast Symphonic metallers Sirenia change singers as often as their pants. Emmanuelle Zoldan, their fifth vocalist, has a far more operatic range than her predecessor and band leader Morten Veland has expanded their sound to accommodate it. The almost ghostly, gothic vibe on their previous material has been replaced with lavish orchestral displays on In Styx Embrace and the huge Queen Of Lies.

On the other hand, Love Like

Cyanide and Desire are the album’s most intriguing propositions, wedging poppy choruses between choirs, Morten’s death growls and blackened metal passages. If only Sirenia had taken that genre-mashing approach throughout their ninth album – instead, with everything geared towards maximum bombast, it suffers from symphonic fatigue by the end.