THE PASSION OF OUR SOULS
“SOULMATES”
Self Released
From Finland come a young act, THE PASSION OF OUR SOULS, offering to take us
on an 17+ minute trip through melancholy with this, their debut, released digitally and on
CD as well. For only being formed in 2014, THE PASSION OF OUR SOULS, show
surprising skill and a nice THICK sound. Coming in sounding somewhere between
OBITUARY and DAYLIGHT DIES, everything seems rather “pro forma” on the
opening track “Give Me Your Soul”. Good sounding Death Metal with an emphasis on
powerful riff-age, that is until the chorus breaks in. An angelic (excuse the description,
you know what I mean…) female vocalist sings the choruses, with the (presumably male)
Death Metal vocal taking care of the verse, and, at times, in unison with the female vocal
line, usually on the final chorus repeat. The female vocal line is really what makes this
band stand out. Not your average harpy screecher, that has become synonymous with
every release containing the words “female vocals” in the accompanying press kit. This
vocalist shows a surprising vulnerability, that I cannot analogize better than, if Enya were
to sing in a Metal band. It sounds like a lame cop out on this reviewer’s part, but truly, I
see that openness and as I said, vulnerability, of Enya all over this. That, coupled with the
fact that the female vocal line only does the chorus whilst the Death Metal vocal does the
verse, adds this oddly engrossing feel of a dialogue, coming to fruition in the final chorus
repeat when they’re sung together. An element of all four tracks and a true high point for
this album. Musically, as stated before, the (possibly up-tempo) DAYLIGHT DIES
influence remains throughout though the aforementioned OBITUARY sound is fleeting.
In fact, after this “dialogue” begins with the two vocal lines, the music and vocals all mesh
together in your imagination giving “SOULMATES” a fluidity and effortlessness that I
certainly didn't expect from the first release of an act formed last year. Pretty intense! For
a scene so heavy laden with the mix of Gothic Rock and Death Metal, I find it pretty
encouraging that a new band, with a debut release no less, could capture my ear so. This is
fine work and I’m looking forward to seeing where THE PASSION OF OUR SOULS
can go from here.
www.facebook.com/THEPASSIONOFOURSOULS
- (Reviewed by Keith Dempe)
“SOULMATES”
Self Released
From Finland come a young act, THE PASSION OF OUR SOULS, offering to take us
on an 17+ minute trip through melancholy with this, their debut, released digitally and on
CD as well. For only being formed in 2014, THE PASSION OF OUR SOULS, show
surprising skill and a nice THICK sound. Coming in sounding somewhere between
OBITUARY and DAYLIGHT DIES, everything seems rather “pro forma” on the
opening track “Give Me Your Soul”. Good sounding Death Metal with an emphasis on
powerful riff-age, that is until the chorus breaks in. An angelic (excuse the description,
you know what I mean…) female vocalist sings the choruses, with the (presumably male)
Death Metal vocal taking care of the verse, and, at times, in unison with the female vocal
line, usually on the final chorus repeat. The female vocal line is really what makes this
band stand out. Not your average harpy screecher, that has become synonymous with
every release containing the words “female vocals” in the accompanying press kit. This
vocalist shows a surprising vulnerability, that I cannot analogize better than, if Enya were
to sing in a Metal band. It sounds like a lame cop out on this reviewer’s part, but truly, I
see that openness and as I said, vulnerability, of Enya all over this. That, coupled with the
fact that the female vocal line only does the chorus whilst the Death Metal vocal does the
verse, adds this oddly engrossing feel of a dialogue, coming to fruition in the final chorus
repeat when they’re sung together. An element of all four tracks and a true high point for
this album. Musically, as stated before, the (possibly up-tempo) DAYLIGHT DIES
influence remains throughout though the aforementioned OBITUARY sound is fleeting.
In fact, after this “dialogue” begins with the two vocal lines, the music and vocals all mesh
together in your imagination giving “SOULMATES” a fluidity and effortlessness that I
certainly didn't expect from the first release of an act formed last year. Pretty intense! For
a scene so heavy laden with the mix of Gothic Rock and Death Metal, I find it pretty
encouraging that a new band, with a debut release no less, could capture my ear so. This is
fine work and I’m looking forward to seeing where THE PASSION OF OUR SOULS
can go from here.
www.facebook.com/THEPASSIONOFOURSOULS
- (Reviewed by Keith Dempe)