ELEINE – We Shall Remain
Release Date: 14th July 2023
Label: Atomic Fire Records
Order/Stream
Genre: Symphonic Dark Metal, Symphonic Metal, Black Metal, Death Metal, Thrash Metal.
FFO: Semblant, Walk in Darkness, Ignea, Rage of Light, AD Infinitum, Visions of Atlantis.
Review By: Mark Waight
I have been following Eleine since their self-titled debut in 2015 and have nothing but admiration for this band who have worked so hard to build their fanbase worldwide as fully independent artists. Eleine were always destined for big things, and I was so excited when they signed for Atomic Fire Records to see which direction they would go.
I am pleased to say that with We Shall Remain, Eleine have stayed true to their roots along with delivering their best album to date. Atomic Fire have just added that little sprinkling of shimmering stardust to allow Eleine to fulfil their destiny. We Shall Remain is that cherry on the cake!
Eleine is Madeleine Liljestram (vocals), Rikard Ekberg (guitars, vocals), Filip Stalberg (bass) and Jesper Sunnhagen (drums).
Never Forget kicks things off nicely with a smoking red-hot pace, and then by deftly alternating between the gears it keeps you constantly guessing what’s coming next. Pedal to the metal, we are off to a flier!
The haunting heavy riff to Stand by the Flame leads us into something with very much an eastern flavour to it. It conjures up images of Saharan hot heat slowly overpowering and consuming you. The choral opening to We Are Legion instantly creates scenes of vast armies in your mind marching to war as one. This fabulous song is a call to the Eleine faithful for unity.
Promise of Apocalypse does exactly that as it flirts between doom and disaster with a black and menacing soundtrack, only Madeleine Liljestram’s crystal clear vocals offer a brief glimmer of light in the darkness. This is Eleine at their absolute best. We are then further intimidated by Blood in their Eyes; all hope is now lost, so resign yourself to your fate. There are some powerful guts twisting brutal vocals from Rikard Ekberg to be the polar opposition to the angelic voice of Madeleine Liljestram.
Instrumental Vemod is a much gentler song by Eleine standards, but it is only a brief interlude of less than a minute. A slight pause for breath.
Through the Mist gets us right back on track with its quicker delivery and almost cinematic feel to the soundtrack. We also get treated to some clean and brutal male vocals to accompany our leading ladies’ beautiful lyrical renditions. The frantic pace continues with Suffering, as we are taken on an emotional roller coaster which flows through every part of the song. A stunning wailing guitar solo more than compliments the haunting vocals – what a ride!
War Das Alles is an inspirational track composed of a German poem written by Madeleine Liljestam in one of her darkest hours. With this beautiful song, she is sharing her innermost feelings to the world, and I, for one, acknowledge her bravery for doing so.
Title track We Shall Remain closes things off and leaves us in no doubt that Eleine are here to stay. Eleine are absolutely on fire at this moment in time and this line-up are super tight! Long may it last!
We Shall Remain by Eleine is one of those albums that don’t come along very often because the instant you hear it you know it’s going to be BIG!
Every track on We Shall Remain stands up individually as a testament to demonstrate that Eleine is one of the greatest Metal bands of any genre around the scene right now. If you are going to treat yourself to an album this coming July, then We Shall Remain is it so do yourself a favour grab a copy and join the Eleine legion!
(5 / 5)
