Singer : Orisonata
Song Title : Orisonata
Orisonata
Orisonata is a new entry in the
crowded, mostly European-led genre of female-fronted symphonic metal bands.But unlike very well-known and long running bands like Within Temptation,Nightwish and Stream Of Passion (who’s new album is coming out on April 18 btw), Orisonata is from the United States and has the distinction of being led by multi-instrumentalist and composer Jason Lee Greenberg and his wife,vocalist Jennifer Grassman.Although
Ms. Grassman is also a pianist and
singer/songwriter,she handles only the vocals and lyrics on Orisonata’s self- titled debut.That leaves the bulk of the work to Greenberg who, with his excellent classical and metal guitars,and heavy,symphonic metal compositions makes for a very cool debut album.Honestly,the whole symphonic metal genre has never been
one of my favorite styles.I often find the music to be too overly-dramatic and the bands often focused on the charms
and presence of their singer to the
detriment of creating music that really draws me in.I’m happy to say that’s not the case with
Orisonata where the
focus is on compositional structure as well as Greenburg’s huge range of guitars (from classical acoustic to very heavy metallic) as well keyboards, bass and drums.I also really liked the sparse use of guest musicians like saxophonist Todd Oxford to flesh out the sound as
needed.The album is comprised of seven songs,most in the 6-8 minute range with standard lyrical themes from literature and mythology and begins with Journey
To The Center Of The Earth, a song that has all of the timeworn tropes of symphonic metal including a
dramatically building melodic structure and multi-layered vocals but begins with an ethereal solo saxophone before delving into heavy symphonic territory.Interestingly it’s the sax here that brings in the melody as an intro into alternating passages of acoustic guitars and metal.The sax closes out this exciting and compelling introductory song.The Once And Future King is epic
in scope and builds amazing drama
throughout and has a excellent
cinematic middle section along with
some gorgeous vocal from Grassman (her rather girlish yet commanding vocal presence is a great counterpoint to her husband’s orchestrations.) After the
hard-driving symphonic metal of The Great Baptism (which features some great,dramatic piano parts), we get Unholy Creation which amps up the headbanging quotient and features the best vocal melody on the album as well
as a cool short jazz piano solo from
guest musician Pamela York.I also
really dug the jamming acoustic guitar/vocal section near the end and actually wished that this style was fleshed out more fully rather than going back so quickly to the metal.After changing styles slightly with the hard-driving,almost power metal of Oath Breaker,Robin Hood, while still mostly an intense
symphonic metal juggernaut adds in another well-placed sax solo and a softly beautiful and very classical acoustic guitar to close it out.The album then ends surprisingly with the fully acoustic Renaissance-styled folk ballad The Muses , a song that could easily come off a Blackmore’s Night
(another band also fronted by a married couple).Grassman’s voice really shines here along with the addition of flute.I almost feel that Orisonata would do better to focus on this aspect of their music and perhaps use symphonic metal as an accent to the music rather
than its main focus.
Orisonata’s debut album is an excellent exposition of symphonic metal with elements of drama, epic heaviness and some great use of unexpected elements that add great color to the album.Although I did enjoy the album, I do feel that most of the songs (except for
The Muses) sounded too similar in style and I was also hard pressed to
remember any of the specific songs after having heard the album several times.Perhaps more variety in mood, tempo and texture would have made this a top-notch album for me along with creating more memorable melodies. I’d also like to see them add in more progressive elements to their music and,given what I’ve heard on this debut, plus Greenberg’s serious musical chops I’m expecting a lot from this group in the future! If you like, you can hear the entire Orisonata album via the Spotify playlist below and you can also purchase a copy of the album via the Amazon.com link,also below.
Released in 2014 Independent
Track listing
1. Journey to the Center of the Earth 8:42
2. Once And Future King 6:35
3. The Great Baptism 8:04
4. Unholy Creation 7:18
5. Oath Breaker 5:01
6. Robin Hood 7:55
7. The Muses 5:07
Band members
Jason Lee Greenberg – all guitars &
instruments
Jennifer Grassman – all vocals
Guest musicians
Todd Oxford – saxophone
Wade Vandesande – bass on “Oath
Breaker”
Brad Shearhart – bass on “Robin Hood”
Pamela York – piano on “Unholy Creation”
Cynthia Butler – flutes on “The Muses”
Marco Bayarena – synth solo on “Journey to the Center of the Earth”
Review by Jeff Stevens
