A Womans Diary: Chapter 1

Talk about a daring, even unique, but potentially disastrous concept! With the first album by her new musical venture, Angel, ex-Lake of Tears songstress Helena Iren Michaelsen proposes to elucidate all of those sensitive metalheads out there on a woman's highly personal and emotional voyage through life, of which this is but chapter one. Oh boy! Perhaps she should have first considered the facts that metal fans aren't exactly known for paying attention to lyrics in the first place, are predominantly male, and, well, men just don't listen, now, do they? But, if Michaelsen's first bout of sobbing three minutes into opener "Fallen Angel," and song titles like "Little Princess," "Butterfly," and "Little Girl," don't send you scurrying for the nearest sports bar, then you may actually be ready for this sonic equivalent of sensitivity training and/or couple's therapy entitled A Woman's Diary: Chapter One! All kidding aside, folks, here are a slew of commercially savvy, highly melodic gothic hard rock and metal tunes (sometimes bordering on AOR and pop) which fans partial to outfits like Epica, Tristania, or the incredibly popular "Nightwish," will probably eagerly lap up. Simply because Michaelsen's songwriting talents are nothing to look down upon, and among the other tracks worth noting here are the all-purpose single of a title track, the techno-inflected goth-charge "Flames of Desire," and the high-camp operatics of "Darkness." The album also benefits from superb production and orchestral arrangements from Audun Gronnestad (known for his work with the singer's former band Imperia), making the sum of its parts far greater than the individual moments -- even if the overall premise is still likely to polarize listeners into love/hate camps. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia|