Nine Destinies and a Downfall - Dark Publications

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Editorial Reviews:

Album Description
Limited edition deluxe digipak pressing of the Norwegian Goth Metal band's 2007 album includes s bonus track and enhancements. Led by Morten Veland, former vocalist and guitarist with Tristania. Still sworn to the darker and atmospheric genre, he now resurfaces with his new band Sirenia with one goal in mind: to bring a fresh sound into the underground scene. Nuclear Blast.

Customer Reviews: Read 15 more reviews...

2 out of 5 stars

What happened Morten? March 27, 2007
12 out of 15 found this review helpful

Sirenia is the only band who has never produced a song I didn't like--until now. I bought this new release expecting to love it all, with one or two epics like Euphoria, Sister Nightfall, or Lithium and a Lover. What did I get instead?--46 minutes of pop radio. Gone is the violin, and rare is Morten's voice. We get a bunch of Monika (who has a solid voice, but every song sounded the same). Please, Morten, tell us this is an early April fool's joke and that the real release is coming out April 2.

5 out of 5 stars

Addictively catchy April 13, 2007
11 out of 13 found this review helpful

I love gothic metal. It is the only type of metal music I will listen to. Unfortunately a lot of gothic metal music nowadays is rather generic sounding and sounds awfully like Leaves' Eyes or Nightwish. This is not the case with Sirenia. A friend recently gave me a copy of "Nine Destinies and a Downfall". This is my first Sirenia cd so I can't compare this album with past Sirenia albums. As a new listener to Sirenia's music, I immediately fell in love with this album. The album is chockful of radio friendly gothic metal tracks. The songs are extremely accessible. I immediately fell in love with the album the moment I heard "Last Call". I knew I was in for a treat. I especially love "My Mind's Eye". I find myself playing this song over and over again because of the infectious pop hooks that permeates through the entire song. One of the things that stood out for me about this album is Monika Pedersen's clean vocals. Her vocals has a hint of Liv Kristine influence but they are very subtle. The musicianship is tight and solid. There was not one single song on this album I did not like. As a new fan I am curious to check out the band's earlier albums. I am well aware that their other albums with their former vocalist is not as clean and polished as "Nine Destinies and a Downfall". I understand why some longtime fans are not happy with this album. I could say the same about some of my favorite bands.

2 out of 5 stars

One Giant Disappointment December 18, 2007
6 out of 6 found this review helpful

One thing is for sure, Sirenia has stayed true to their album title. This latest release from the band is one giant downfall. I never thought I'd have to write such a thing after hearing some good things about this CD. This album is terrible.

You thought you knew Sirenia? Well apparently you don't. Morten Veland completely turns the tables once again to take on a different sound. Now, don't get me wrong, I don't mind an artist changing their sound, if it's done well and still holds the general feeling of the band. However, the sound and style on this band have completely changed for the worst.

The songs themselves are generic in every possible way. The guitar riffs are pretty much the same throughout the entire album, with just minor tweeks to make them sound slightly different from song to song. This makes the whole album sound exactly the same. This wouldn't be as bad if there was something interesting about the songs themselves. But there isn't anything that stands out. Most of the songs get old very fast. They become tiresome to listen to. Where Sirenia's previous songs had energy, power, and strength these new tracks do nothing, save for a couple.

Then there's the new singer Monika. I hate to say this since many praise her voice; but she sounds terrible. She sings in a monotone the entire album. She rarely goes out of a particular range. This itself is very grating, it adds to the sameness of the songs. When she happens to step out of that particular range, her voice actually cracks. Just listen to "...all in vain" on the song "Sundown". This shouldn't happen when someone has tons of singing experience (or so I've heard). She sounds like she's straining her voice. Alright, maybe I'm being a little harsh here. Perhaps she was told to sing that way. I don't know-but whatever the case, it's very annoying to have to listen to someone sing like that. Some have said that she should've been a background singer instead of the lead. I'm inclined to agree. It doesn't seem like she has the strength or power vocally to carry an album, well this album at least.

There's maybe three tracks that are in my okay books. "Last Call" is suprisingly not too bad, despite Monika dominating the entire song. "Downfall" is saved by some of Morten's growls, even though most of the song falls into generic obscurity. Though I will admit (unwillingly) that the generic chorus can be catchy at times. Monika's vocals aren't too grating on both of these songs. "Sundown" is easily the best track on the album as it's more of an ode to what Sirenia was-a great band. The chorus and bridge have the power from their old days and showcase their potential. However, the verses are way too poppy. The background singers grate on my nerves. Overall the song still manages to shine though.

With 3 out of 10 tracks being okay, the album is a huge disappointment. I'm not asking for Sirenia to put out the same album twice. I'm asking for them to release music of their calibar, rather than creating lackluster music. Sadly, this isn't the case. It's become apparent that this band has sold out, in my opinion.

If you want to listen to Old Sirenia, buy their previous albums. If you don't mind what I've described, by all means buy this album and give it a chance.

I can only hope that their fourth release will be much improved over this one.

2 out of 5 stars

When good dogs do bad things March 31, 2007
5 out of 7 found this review helpful

Check out the My Minds Eye video on YouTube... I was hoping it wasn't a representative of the album, but alas, it is.

Compared to older stuff (At Sixes and Sevens - 5 stars) I'm giving this 2 stars and not 1 only because the instrumental parts are still well written (fret not for it is still far above and beyond Lacuna Coil), but whatsherface's pop vocals make it pretty much unlistenable for any older Morten Veland fans. His vocals only make an appearance on 3 tracks, and even then very briefly.

Let's hope that some day they'll re-release this album with vocal tracks completely rearranged and rerecorded.

2 out of 5 stars

Not the Sirenia we used to know.......... April 5, 2007
5 out of 7 found this review helpful

I loved the first two Sirenia albums for their diversity. Screams, growls, whispers, clean vocals, female vocals, choirs, you name it - it was there.

Now the songs are less complex, more repetitious, and (gasp) "radio-friendly" with pop-style female vocals and Morten's vocals appearing on only three songs.

Ouch! Not exactly what we long-time fans were expecting!! If the goal was to become a more accessible, female fronted band...then I suppose Morten succeeded. However this is not going to thrill everyone who has been listening since Tristania. Speaking of them, Illumination was surprisingly more creative than this album.

I hope Sirenia goes back to its old, diverse and exciting ways. The first two albums were in my stereo for a consistent six months or longer. I haven't even been able to listen to this one even six times. A "Downfall" for now...but perhaps if enough of us speak out, we'll get a stronger fourth album. (fingers crossed)

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