Review by Richie Pirone
Heavy metal is meant to get your blood flowing and make you want to crack open some Jack Daniels, right? Then how can The Forgotten Goddess, the debut from LA’s Echoes Of Eternity be so relaxing yet undeniably a metal record? The answer is the band’s lovely lead vocalist Francine Boucher and her operatic vocals. Boucher’s vocals, thanks in part to the production on the record, create a solemn atmosphere despite the complex metal riffs and heavy drumming provided by her supporting cast. The album casts a vastly different shadow from what many have become accustomed to with much of the new metal coming out today feature the all too common “Cookie Monster” screaming.
For those of us who live on the outskirts of the metal world like myself, at first listen Goddess sounds to be a very European record, at least European in metal. This is obviously untrue since, as previously mentioned, the band hails from Los Angeles so it can only be save to assume that the instrumentalists of Echoes Of Eternity have done their homework. The second track on Goddess “Expressions of Flesh” brings a constant driving riff countered with the soothing vocals of Boucher that create a mood that we are not used to hearing in metal. The key here is that neither the instruments nor the vocals pull too far in either direction; they find the right spot to allow the listener to enjoy the tune. The next track “Voices In A Dream” features an acoustic guitar laden bridge that is simply blasted away by the blazing solo that follows it. One of the albums better riffs comes on “Towers of Silence.” The riff is full and fills the aural space well unlike some of the other riffs on the album that are too busy in the technical aspect of the music. Uncharacteristically, the title track to Goddess is one of its weaker songs. While the verse to the song sparks interest the chorus simply falls flat, it’s just trying to be too big and too open to contract the verse. Over all, this is really one of the few low points of the album.