Elis – Catharsis (2009)

Three years have passed since their last full length album “Griefshire” and the unexpected passing of Sabine Dünser, she was featured in that album and it took the band some time to decide if they wanted to continue or not. The band found Sandra Schleret (ex-Dreams Of Sanity) as the new vocalist and decided to continue, touring in 2007 and recording an EP on the same year.

After not hearing much from Elis in 2008, they are back in full swing at the end of 2009 with their fourth album “Catharsis” featuring 11 tracks of their traditional sounding Gothic Metal. The band retains their musical identity intact, and with Sandra’s vocals they sound as good as ever.

Elis sound has matured greatly in the bands 6 years of experience, and “Catharsis” features some of their best musical compositions to date. The songs are complex and well developed but yet simple enough to grab the listeners attention, and when you least expect it the album is over and you want to listen to it again. I can never get tired of listening to any of the band’s albums, since their music is brilliant and now with Sandra on vocals they sound ‘different’ but a good different.

Musically, each track is perfectly crafted with a strong guitar riff base (sometime the sound like heavy metal in track 11 for example), layered with lush keyboard atmospheres, very solid drumming and a great vocal track. The alternation of growls and Sandra’s voice is done very well, never reaching the cliché levels of many ‘beauty and the beast’ bands, Elis has managed to perfect their timings of this combination of vocals.

“Catharsis” is a very guitar oriented release that is very well composed to be catchy and melodic. The band gives at some points a ‘hard rock’ vibe, but never dabbles away from their metal foundations. Sandra’s vocals are strong as usual and showcase a very good repertoire of different styles; there is never a dull moment when she is singing.

After waiting almost 2 years since the band’s last release, I must say that “Catharsis” was well worth the wait, and if you are into Gothic Metal, this is one of the ‘must buy’ albums of the year. I can’t wait to see if I can catch them live at some point on their career.

Release: December 15, 2009

Country: Liechtenstein