{"id":8442,"date":"2022-01-29T19:30:21","date_gmt":"2022-01-29T18:30:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kessel-tamerus.nl\/Esthers_Blog\/?p=8442"},"modified":"2025-08-06T10:56:09","modified_gmt":"2025-08-06T08:56:09","slug":"grace-and-fire-elysium","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kessel-tamerus.nl\/Esthers_Blog\/cd-recensie\/grace-and-fire-elysium\/","title":{"rendered":"Grace and Fire \u2013 Elysium"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n
\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

In 2019, Andr\u00e9 Saint and Aaron Gidney founded the prog\/melodic hard rock band Grace and Fire. Bassist Tim Ashton (founder of Galahad) and drummer Graham Brown (Paradox Twin, Cairo) complete the lineup. Their debut album ‘Elysium’ was released in November, but only recently crossed my path. It is actually too late for a review, but I could not resist. In Greek mythology, Elysium was the pleasant residence for the people who passed away and were granted special favours by the gods. With this album, ‘Grace and Fire’ takes you on a journey to a world that resembles Dante’s Inferno. A number of special guest musicians participate, including keyboardists Derek Sherinian (Sons of Apollo\/ex Dream Theatre) and Gary Marsh (Tiger Moth Tales\/Red Bazar). Production and mixing was done by Karl Groom (Threshold). Reason enough to bring this special album to your attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After a rather quiet intro, ‘Overture’ goes into rock. There are several (subtle) changes like a short mellow piece. The balance between keyboards and (bass) guitar is good. At times, the music has a pleasant hectic atmosphere. The end is extraordinary, but the start of ‘Elysium’ doesn’t fit in as well. Andr\u00e9 has a voice with his own colour, which is especially noticeable in the moments that he sings higher. He shows that he has enough power. Vocal parts are alternated with instrumental parts. There is a fine balance between rhythm and melody. This accessible song fades out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fantastic keyboard work by Derek Sherinian, a lovely guitar solo and stacked voices. These are a few of the ingredients of the exhilarating ‘Breathing Murder’.
Moreover, the possibility to distribute the sound nicely over the headphones is used now and then. The intro of ‘Paradise Lost’ is compelling. Here, Goran Edman is the guest vocalist, his voice matching Andr\u00e9’s nicely. This song also has quite a few twists and turns and nice melodic pieces. There’s a nice build-up to the end here. The hard rock elements of ‘Chains of Sanity’ are wrapped up in a catchy and accessible structure. They form a nice contrast with the high notes that mainly come from the keyboards. The complex construction has surprising changes. ‘Sea of Dreams’ has a dreamy atmosphere, the flute playing of Zachariah Gidney fits in nicely. The tempo is delightfully slow and the gradual contrasts in volume are well chosen. The build up to more volume is nice, the sequel is a bit predictable, but the voices are well stacked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The intro of ‘A Warrior’s Tale’ is pretty calm, this transforms into a catchy tempo. The words are sung in an appropriately high tempo. The voice of Mark Boals also fits well in the whole. ‘Eyes of the Seer’ has a tightly played intro, and there are some light metal influences. At one point, the music dies down and the song seems to end, but continues. This turn, and the short piece that follows, are a bit strange. Although it belongs together, it is not really convincing. The instrumental ‘The Great Divide Pt. I’ is a rather short melancholic track that flows into ‘The Great Divide Pt. II’ The changes flow into each other. The twists and turns in the rhythm are sometimes complex, but by adding pieces with a catchy rhythm, it is easy to listen to. A rousing piece in the last section forms the start of an extended build-up to the end. Finally, there is another fade out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You notice by everything that this is an album with a storyline, but you do need the lyric booklet to follow it well. A little too often, the words (especially at the end of a sentence) are stretched out. The end of the songs, and\/or the build-up to the end could have been better. The contrasts between the high and low tones, and the details would have been better if the sound had been a fraction better. Also the sound of the cymbals is a bit too tinny. There is a nice balance between bass, guitar and the keys. All this is complemented well by the dynamic drumming, of which the sound is nicely full. At times, there are pleasantly many layers in the music, but the accessibility has remained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(73\/100) (OOB Records)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Social media<\/strong>:
Website: Grace and Fire<\/a>
Facebook: Grace and Fire<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n