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We Shall Remain

    
       
       
       
     
             
Eleine are a symphonic metal band from Sweden formed in 2014, releasing four albums to date - 'Eleine' (2015), 'Until The End' (2018), 'Dancing In Hell' (2020), and 'We Shall Remain' (2023).    
             
Founded by vocalist Madeleine Liljestam and guitarist Rikard Ekberg, Eleine's brand of music is dark symphonic metal with touches of black, death, and thrash. Over the bands ten year career, they have toured with the likes of Moonspell, Arch Enemy, Sonata Arctica, and Kamelot, performing at many of the worlds metal festivals including Gelfe Metal, Loud & Metal Mania, Sweden Rock, and the 70,000 Tons Of Metal cruise. 'We Shall Remain' contains ten songs across just thirty six minutes, featuring lyrical themes surrounding belief - belief in oneself and in the invisible bond the world of metal shares! As Ekberg explains "this album is full of songs that focus on strength, moments of realization, and the process of coming back to yourself". So let's take a dive into 'We Shall Remain', and see, or rather hear, what the Swedes have to offer.    
             
The album is brought to life with the fast paced and heavy hitting 'Never Forget', thundering forth like a tank rolling into battle! The vocal range of Liljestam is incredible, effortlessly soaring from a traditional metal feel to a sky high symphonic swagger - and everything in-between! Incorporating some elements of thrash too, 'Never Forget' also features some harsh vocals courtesy of, I believe, the bands guitarist Ekberg. Throughout the album, the mood swings are dramatic, 'Stand By The Flame' leaving the sprightly shenanigans of the opening song way behind! 'Stand By The Flame' has a much meaner approach, bringing grandiose flair to the fore, striding on with elegance and head held high. Yet the band weave a phenomenal melodious intent all the way through 'Stand By The Flame', with a simply gorgeous powerhouse vocal performance from lead singer Liljestam. A tribute to the bands legions of fans, 'We Are Legion' is a hard hitting anthemic metal style romp, once again featuring the harsh vocals heard earlier alongside Liljestam's magnificent voice! The band perform with immense intensity, tightly grabbing listeners attention and never letting go. And why would you wanna go when the metal on show is this fucking good!    
             
A much heavier tone descends upon the album with the mighty 'Promise Of Apocalypse' portraying a little doom style attitude - for the first fifty seconds or so at least! And then 'Promise Of Apocalypse' turns on its heels and strides off into the distance with a grand majesty! Eleine are at their most stunning here, perfectly blending doom, symphonic and traditional heavy metal into one seamless and jaw dropping meander. Liljestam's voice is intoxicating, every red-blooded male across the entire planet transfixed by her sensual delivery - a delivery that just seems so effortless! And with a brasher feel than anything heard so far, 'Blood In Their Eyes' chugs into life, marching on with a purpose and intent so devastating that walls are gonna crumble! The band are now hitting harder than ever, much harder than let's say a thousand wrecking balls all hitting at once! Yet incredibly, the albums immense melodious intent still shines through, very brightly! This is my first time giving Eleine a proper listen, and I can honestly say I wish I'd done so a few years ago - gimme a minute while I make a note to source the bands back catalogue!    
             
Okay, I'm back, the one minute instrumental 'Vemond' setting an eerie yet intense anticipative feel for 'Through The Mist' - a raucous gallop of thrash come death come black come symphonic come whatever the band deem is the right fit for this particular moment in time. Eleine are like a chameleon, changing their appearance at will to adapt to anything around them - the song writing partnership of Liljestam and Ekberg serving the band very well, very well indeed. 'Through The Mist' is bold, big, and fairly bombastic, crushing listeners with a torrent of terrific heavy metal! Increasing the energy level, Eleine romp on with the symphonic metaller 'Suffering', planting one foot firmly on the monitor, echoing the iconic stance of traditional metal, the band widening their fanbase to incredible widths, err, lengths, err degrees! Yea, incredible degrees makes more sense!    
             
One of the most touching and intimate moments on the album, 'War Das Alles' is an emotional roller coaster, featuring some of the most beautiful vocals 'We Shall Remain' has to offer! I mentioned it earlier, but the voice of Liljestam is so fucking amazing, her sensational range reaching heights that many singers can only dream about! The dark atmosphere of 'War Das Alles' mixed with the emotional lyrical content, may bring a few listeners to tears - 'War Das Alles' dealing with growing up in an ever changing world, longing for the simpler times of our youth, and then realizing that our youth is over and all we have left is to reflect on what our lives have been, or could have been, finally accepting what are lives have become, and that time is only ever a one way street! The chorus "war das alles, wie kann es nursein, es ist vorbei" translating to "was that all, how can it be, it's over" - really makes you think! Hard!    
             
The final song on the album, the title song 'We Shall Remain', is a ferocious furore of heavy hitting symphonic metal, combining everything the band have in their make-up! Soaring vocals over thunderously heavy musical passages hit very hard. Yet once again, the bands incredible melodious approach shines through across the chorus break - turning in a hymn-like come anthemic performance that'd fit perfectly as the big ending to a magical opera! And as 'We Shall Remain' (the song) plays out to a standing ovation, I'll leave the last words to the bands guitarist Ekberg, "you can either give up right here and now, or you can reconnect with your fire. We all need to realize that we have others on our side, to embrace the will to live, to thrive and to rise again". Amen to that my metal brethren (and sistren)!    
             
Overall, a wondrous and commanding performance of top notch symphonic metal with true meaning and heartfelt personal statements.    
             
             
Review by Iron Mathew Collins    
             
Reviewed for Metal Gods TV    
             
             
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