In 2013 in Saint Petersburg, Russia symphonic metalband ElisaDay was founded by the participants of symphonic metal band Lanewin, after the moment when Anna Beliva, the leader of this group, started her new project.
ElisaDay started recording new material and they released their debut EP named Find The Answer, which was released in 2014. After ElisaDay released their second EP in 2017 (Never Be The Same) this five piece band found it was time to rework their sound and added several other influences into their musical style. This all comes together in their brand new EP named Auftakt, which has been released at the 15th of October 2021 as an independent release.
This has become a 4 song EP with a total playing time of almost 25 minutes and represents the new musical direction these Russians have taken. Let’s dive straight into it!
This EP opens with the song Inner War and pulls you in directly. A cinematic opening and clean vocals set the tone for this song. A very melodic and accessible track, with some tempo changes and towards the end the solo’s play their part in a good way.
The next song on this 4 track EP is called Fire Or Ice. Again this has a somewhat cinematic opening but starts pretty heavy right away. Nice riffs and ditto drums are followed by the intriguing voice of Lyubov Dunaeva. Throughout the track you feel the emotions shine thru and the addition of “epic trailer and cinematic vibes” truly is a good move from ElisaDay.
Poison Ring is the third track of this EP and it doesn’t disappoint. Where the previous two songs really feel like “epic symphonic” metal ( which resembles bands like Nightwish, Epica and Within Temptation in a good way) Poison Ring has a real “Eastern” vibe to it. The opening sounds, the somewhat slow drums and captivating voice of Dunaeva create a heavy feel that, again, is very accessible. Here and there the pace picks up, but never in a real high gear.
The last song of this impressive EP is called Hear Me and fits perfectly with the previous songs. The longest track (almost 10 minutes) opens (once again) with a theatrical approach. Bombastic drums and violins accompanied by heavy guitars and fantastic singing makes for the best song of this EP (in my opinion). Throughout the song the tempo changes several times and the addition of the growls and male singing voice is a nice addition and gives this song a little more. Even when you only listen to the music without paying attention to the lyrics, you feel a story is being told.
Conclusion
For me Auftakt, is my first encounter with ElisaDay and I must say I am really impressed. The music is very well thought out, the addition of theatrical and cinematic influences is a perfect fit, and the overall quality of both lyrics and composition is of a high standard. For fans of bands like Nightwish and Epica for example, Auftakt will be a great way to get to know Elisaday. For fans who are new to this genre, this EP shows a lot of influences that are used in symphonic metal in general. That being said, originality isn’t found on this EP, but that’s not a problem when the finished product is this good. The EP is really accessible, the lyrics are well written and the overall composition of Auftakt is impressive to say the least.
Score 90/100
ElisaDay:
Lyubov Dunaeva – Vocals
Igor Borodin – Drums
Ivan Kaiser – Keyboard
Dmitry Popov – Guitar
Denis Geit – Bass
To make sure you won’t miss anything ElisaDay releases or announces, please follow them thru the following links.
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/elisadayofficial
Bandcamp:
https://elisaday.bandcamp.com/
Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/c/ElisaDay
Hard Life Promotions:
Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/hardlifepromotion
