Dead Venus
Bird of Paradise

Label: Non Stop Music/Rockstar Publishing
Three similar bands: Burning Witches/Surrilium/Seraina Telli
Rating: HHHHHHH (3/7)
Reviewer: Daniel Källmalm

Tracks
1. Latitudinarian
2. Bird of Paradise
3. Kiss of the Muse
4. Dark Sea
5. Human Nature
6. Valediction
7. Beauty
8. Redemptionless
9. Dear God
10. The Sirens Call
11. Alone
12. Flying Soul


Band:
Seraina Telli – vocals, keyboards and acoustic guitars
André Gaertner – clean and distorted basses
Mike Malloth – drums


Discography:
Debut


Guests:
Phillippe Kuhn - Grand Piano


Info:
Produced and arranged by Dead Venus
Drums, vocals & acoustic guitars recorded @ SOS Basement Recording Studios, Oberenfelden, CH
Bass and keys recorded @ Note this music Recording Studios, Rieden, CH
Mixed by Sebb Schiess @ SOS Basement Recording Studios
Mastered by Dan Suter @ Echochamber, Zürich, CH
Artwork and layout by Julian Bauer
Cover based on a photo by Thierry Schmidli

Released 2020-05
Reviewed 2020-05-09

Links:
deadvenus.com
youtube


läs på svenska

Bird of Paradise is the debut album by Swiss progressive band Dead Venus, it was originally released in their home country in September and now in May it will be released on a wider scale. It is an album of twelve tracks and a pretty fine artwork that sort of depicts band mastermind Seraina who has sung for the band Burning Witches and done some solo stuff as well, now she wanted to try this adventure.

Musically they are a female fronted band with a little progressive style to them, I would say that they are trying to take a somewhat different path and not just thread down the tried and tested. That is always a positive, to look for the paths less travelled. Bird of Paradise is a well-produced album with a decent singer and relatively good variation, though a bit on the longer side, less would probably have been more in this case.

The positive aspect is that these guys are trying their own thing, that is always a good thing but not necessarily meaning that the music is good. It like the melodies here but the songs don’t really shine, the album never really comes alive and in the end I find myself quite uninterested with what I am hearing. The picture of the album would have benefitted from either a hit song or a more dynamic feel, more depth and dynamics would have been great to enhance this album.

Dead Venus offer some good melodies and some good ideas, but they do not really offer a great album. I find myself having trouble really listening to this album, it doesn’t really grab me and doesn’t make a memorable impression. It is one of those albums that promises a lot but doesn’t deliver too much on that promise. I guess that if you like the similar bands you might find this one agreeable.

HHHHHHH