Band : Memoria
Album title : Memoria
Label : Nightmare Records
Distributor : ?
Release date : February 2009
Release : CD

Finnish Melancholic Metal act Memoira was originally started in 2001 by guitarists Jani Haanpää and Marko Heurlin, but it wasn’t until early 2007 that they had found the necessary musicians coming from several bands, to fulfill their musical views (somehow I forgot to look up the necessary info to be able to tell you whom joined the original duo, but I can tell you that there’s at least a female front singer, whom may also play the keyboards, if no individual keyboardist was taken into the fold…also, evidently, there’s a bassist and drummer).

Towards the end of 2007 the band entered a studio to work on and record the 9 tracks on their debut full-length, and in the beginning of 2008 they turned to Lance King to produce their music. Evidently, this eventually led to a release of the album on Lance’s label Nightmare Records…in February of 2009! And when I found out about this, I lifted my eyebrows in annoyed astonishment, questioning why our editor-in-chief had elected to still have the album reviewed in spite of the fact that we already had a backlog of stuff to be reviewed! Well, the only reason I can see is that he needed to validate the fact that he’d downloaded the album (to add it to his own collection). Because you see, our Chief ain’t normally into Melancholic or Gothic Rock/ Metal with orchestral parts (keyboards also play lavish piano passages as well)! Possibly, this release struck him by the Epic melodies and the Progressive elements in the music? Or perhaps it was the wall of heavy guitars that got to him?

Whatever! Memoira IS a very…véry nice album, the nicest thing of all being that the band refrained from using the “Beauty and The Beast” tactics (backing frail female singing with scrreamed or growled male vocals). For the most part, the songs are brought with female lead vocals getting the occasional, relatively “clean”, male backings…but there’s a couple of exceptions, like you get to hear a man’s lament in the album’s intro “Arise”, and during “Shadow Of My Name” it’s that same guy who does the lead vocals (backed up sparcily by female harmonies).

The label promotes the album towards lovers of such acts like Nightwish, Epica, Kamelot, Within Temptation, Evanecence, and Lacuna Coil…but I’d like to point out that any resemblances with those bands have to be sought in the fact that they all cross Progressive elements with Gothic orchestrations and melodic guitar lines in order to make for an Epic whole. As a unit however, I would say that Memoira stands quite on its own…and a nice place it is to be, you know! If you’re into the above mentioned, my recommendation stands for you to look up the band’s MySpace page to check out some audio material available (alternatively, I’m sure you’ll be able to listen to samples of all 9 tracks at Amazon.com). You’ll discover a very nice album which you simply nééd to have! I would have to admit to not having been able to give it the amount of listening sessions it deserved, but what I heard certainly charmed me. Not to the point of adding the album to my year-lists, but I can tell you it’s featured high up in my “B”-lists!

90/100

Tony.