LULLACRY / WHERE ANGELS FEAR (2012)

"Where Angels Fear" is the band's long-waited fifth album, on Scarlet Records and marks the first Lullacry release since 2005's 'Vol. 4'. The new effort is produced by Mikko Herranen, who, also, sings a duet with Tanja in the track 'Feel My Revenge'. The album was mastered by Svante Forsbäck at Chartmakers (Rammstein, Volbeat, Apocalyptica, Sonata Arctica) in Helsinki, Finland. Here is how guitarist Sami Leppikangas commented the event:

“Yes it sure has taken a lot of time and many things have happened. Last year has probably been the best we've had in Lullacry, at least when it comes to vibes. And you can hear that in the album. For the first time I made the songs without thinking that I have to do a goth ballad or a rock song. We just did things more spontaneously and it led to an album that is a lot more dark, ambitious and multi-dimensional than its predecessors. We’ve also paid a lot more attention to the lyrics and the production, which is much more dynamic. It will be awesome to go and play these new tunes to people, we've really waited this moment for so long.”

The album starts off with the modern and heavy "Antidote To You". For sure, a cool track with some modern-soundin' guitars and powerfull vocal performances from Tanja Lainio. "Still An Angel" is heavier with an up-beat rhythm while "Thousand Suns" features a 'darker' sound with good arrangements. "Feel My Revenge" features Mikko Herranen who contributes to the vocal duties with Tanja. A good Gothic-rock song that with the add of the male vocal-duties makes it a rather interesting duet!  Next comes "Bad Blood" which is the first video from the new album. It's heavy, it's in your-face, it has attitude and Tanja sings her heart out! A personal favourite from "Where Angels Fear"! "All Behind" is another well-crafted tune
but nothin' really breathtaking here. "Gone Ar The Days" is a more straight-forward rock tune with very good arrangements and a melodic-chorus line. I really like the short but intense riff in this one. From the rest of the tracks here, the highlight is the song that closes the album which is titlted "Stay". A huge ballad with a essential melody and Tanja's emotional vocal performances.

Bottom line is that "Where Angels Fear" is a an overall good album. I find myself enjoying most of the tracks here but the truth is that I'm not impressed by the final result. It has good arrangements, passionate vocals, solid guitar work and a tight production but in my humble opinion something is missing. I think that the mix of various styles of Rock music, Alternative-Gothic-Metal-Modern Hard Rock, confuses a bit and the band loses its final target but hey that's only my opinion. For sure, I'll give it more spins in the near future.

HeavyParadise's Rating : 6/10

Track List :  01. Antidote To You 03:29, 02. Still An Angel 02:53, 03. Thousand Suns 04:38, 04. Feel My Revenge 04:47, 05. Bad Blood 03:08, 06. All Behind 03:45, 07. Gone Are The Days 04:19, 08. I Am 03:31, 09. Broken (Into Pieces) 04;59, 10. Where Angels Fear 04:22, 11. Stay 03:34