REVIEW: Lapis Lazuli – A Loss Made Forever (2011)

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Arriving all the way from Sweden, today out of our stack of band-submitted promos, we have Lapis Lazuli and their second full-length album “A Loss Made Forever”. Our first impression was that there was no way this band was not signed. For over 30 minutes, these Swedes treat us to seven very professional songs of emotionally charged Symphonic/Gothic Metal.

Opening with the traditional introduction “Ascension”, we get some glimpses of the powerful keyboards behind this band as soon as the song starts. With the super catchy “A Loss Made Forever” we finally get to hear the band’s enchanting female vocals, courtesy of Frida Eurenius. While there are hundreds of female vocals emerging every day, Frida’s pipes are very unique in the sense that they mix sweetness with power in a very balanced way. The song also features very nice keyboard arrangements crafting a very emotive atmosphere nicely contrasted by powerful guitars.

The mixture of clean male vocals and the female vocals makes “The Silence” a very pleasant track to listen to, while the electronic elements of “Home” provide extra depth to the band. So far we have heard a pretty solid foundation and while being female fronted and catchy, this band is nowhere near playing sappy Pop Metal like Amaranthe and such bands, and we are extremely grateful for this. “Serpent (Black Sun)” has a bit of an Industrial feel to it, but it nicely brakes up the pace of the album and shows the band has great depth when it comes to their sound.

Our favorite track of the album is the highly emotional (and very beautiful) “When Dreams Collide” song. While it reminds us a bit of Within Temptation, the chorus verse is great in this track. To close the album we also have another Within Temptation-esque song called “Dragged into Shade”, this track could have easily done without the ‘agressive’ male vocals, but it is good enough that it can overcome them.

Overall, “A Loss Made Forever” is a very well crafted release from a young and promising band. Featuring creative song writing and excellent instrumentation, Lapis Lazuli has all that it takes to be in the ‘big leagues’ and deserves more attention. If you like powerful and yet melodic Symphonic Metal, stop wasting your time and get to their site to order yourself a copy of this great album.

Band: Lapis Lazuli Album: A Loss Made Forever
Label: Self-Released

Release: June 3rd, 2011

Oficial Site myspace
Genre: Symphonic / Melodic Metal

Country: Sweden

Rating: 87/100
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