Tracks
1. Machine Gun
2. Coward
3. Purge
4. Utter Descension
5. Bow To The Ego
6. Mistaken
7. Scream It
8. Justifiable Casualty
9. Path of Least Resistance
10. Into The Dissonance
11. Slow It Down
12. Love Is An Illusion

Band:
Amanda Somerville – Lead & backing Vocals, Keyboards
Sascha Paeth - Guitars, Bass, Keys, Drums
Sander Gommans - Guitars
Miro - Arrangements & Keys
Olaf Reitmeier - Acoustic Guitar
Robert Hunecke – Drums
Simon Oberender - Keys

Discography:
Debut

Guests:
Jorn Lande - Lead Vocals on “Scream It”

Info
Produced by Sascha Paeth & Miro at Gate Studios
Photo and art by Stefan Heileman

Released 4/11-2011
Reviewed 27/10-2011

Links:
amandasomerville.com
myspace
youtube
frontiers

Trillium (trillium, wakerobin, tri flower, birthroot) is a genus of about 40–50 species of spring ephemeral perennials, native to temperate regions of North America and Asia. It used to be treated in the family Trilliaceae or Trillium family, a part of the Liliales or Lily order. The AGP II treats Trilliaceae as a synonym of the family Melanthiaceae. The above ground parts of Trilliums are scapes with three large, leaf-like bracts with the true leaves reduced to underground papery coverings around the rhizomes. That is one definition of Trillium, another is the compound or Alloy rather that is called Trillium-D which is known from Star Trek. That sounds a bit fitting and a rather fun coincident considering the name of the band and album title. Thing is though that the name is rather derived from the first thing, the flower and the title Alloy comes from in being a conjoining of metal and some other compound which makes it a fitting title according to vocalist Amanda Somerville. It is of course Somerville’s first metal solo project we talk about here and to her help she has enlisted the team from Gate Studios which is Sacha Paeth and Miro. Then she also works with Sander Gommans, Olaf Reitmeier and so on, for her help in songwriting she had Mat Sinner and renowned singer Jörn Lande guests as vocalist on a track. As you see, there is quite a bit of talent and known names within the metal community involved in this project, that in itself is of course no guarantee of success but usually things where Sacha is involved tend to be good.

Musically the title do reflect quite well what it is about, metal meets all sorts of things, sometimes it is metal and other times it is pop music and at times there are things that brings filmscores or classical music to mind. It is a quite diverse mixture of elements that make up this alloy of an album, the songs are quite varied throughout and on top of all is the voice of Amanda Somerville which I think is one of the best voices in the metal community. The production and sound is as expected quite brilliant as it tends to be when Sacha Paeth have been turning dials for someone. The album has twelve tracks and is close to fifty eight minutes in playing time and as stated the songs on the album is rather varied, track seven Scream It is a Duet Amanda sings with acclaimed singer Jörn Lande.

I think that the first thing that struck me with this album before being gunned down was the cover which reminds me a great deal of Time Machine, the feature film that is a remake of the classic with the same title. It looks a great deal like Jeremy Irons’ character in that film, only female and a lot better looking but still the same feel but maybe not with a gigantic brain that is visible through the skin, but the paleness is there. Speaking of movies, there are some fun horror soundtrack nods in the second track called Coward which is one of the tracks that makes a bigger impression on this album. Also it opens with a Machine Gun which is a real hit in the brains with a great chorus and a generally interesting song with lots of atypical passages and similar stuff to slightly challenge and interest you as a listener. The duet with Lande is a very good song as well, quite straightforward heavy metal in a sort of beauty and the best conceptual stance. I also very much enjoy the tenth track Into the Dissonance, wonderful in its simplicity. These four are the ones that stand out the most for me but I do think all the songs are very good and the variation is enough to keep me interested for the entirety of the album which is well done considering it being almost an hour long.

So, if this is the result of the first attempt by Amanda Somerville at her own metallic excursion, then imagine how it will be when she finds a little more experience and maybe even more bravery in the songs. Still, why look forwards when there is so much interesting and good things on this album? flowery, metallic, alloyed, cinematic all topped of with a great voice; unlike Amanda I don’t think she falls into dissonance.

HHHHHHH

 

Label: Frontier Records
Three similar bands: Aina/Jorn/Amanda Somerville
Rating: HHHHHHH (5/7)
Reviewer: Daniel Källmalm