Benighted Soul seems to be one of a rat pack of French Symphonic Gothic type bands that includes Whyzdom, Kells, Markize, Ayin Aleph, FairyLand and others. And I like them all. They seem to play at a regular list of venues; Rock Girls Fest, Scene Bastille and others. According to the band, they are a "French female fronted metal band based on the combination of lyrical or Rock voice and Metal music". Ahh, OK. The sound comes largely from front woman Geraldine Gadaut who teamed with several other musicians initially to start the project. Today, the lineup includes Geraldine and at least 4 more members. It’s a little difficult to tell who they are; I guess it’s a secret. But, they do some fine music; so let’s take a look at it.

As is often the case with the Gothic music scene, Anesidora is a topical presentation. The name Anesidora is one of two given to a Greek who was known as the first woman in Greek mythology. That character has another, and somewhat better known name, Pandora, she of the somewhat mysterious box. And this work moves from that direction with a focus on Greek and Egyptian mythology. It sometimes interests me to have music written and performed by people who actually know something. Can you imagine a rapper talking about Greek and Egyptian mythology? And the music reflects this somewhat intellectual perspective. There is an epic quality to much of the music, and the lyrics also move in that direction. The Benighted Soul music has been compared, by some, to the Nightwish sound. It’s not hard to see the similarity; there is a beautiful female vocal lead, probably not in Tarja’s class but highly entertaining nonetheless. And, the male vocals do, on occasion, sound like Marco. Those vocals do both solo and duet work and are strong. The other musicians are equally competent, there are hard guitars, a heavy pounding drum and some interesting symphonic segments that usually provide background but occasionally take a lead, if only for short periods of time, with the exception of one track where they are featured throughout.

Anesidora opens with Medea’s Anger. Medea, for those of us who have forgotten our mythology, is the wanton hussy who murders her children in anger over her husband’s betrayal. It opens with a somewhat formal symphonic structure. Drums begin to move the song to the guitars and the overlaid vocals of Gadaut. That voice provides a glimpse into the music to follow and there is some playoff with the male vocal. But BS, you know, I just can’t go with that, let’s just say Benighted Soul, is the Gadaut vocal and, by the conclusion of this song, it becomes very apparent that that is the case. The lyrics reflect the anger of the character whose name serves as the title for the song:

This interest in the Greek carries through on many of the titles here but not all of them. Benighted Soul uses a trademark graphic on most of their work. It’s a distorted little rag doll, one that has probably seen better days. It seems to be representative of the direction of the music and is the focus of several songs on this EP. One of these is Fairytale where the lyric takes a gothic theme, complete with a Nightwish sound, both musically and vocally. There is a heavy use of the keyboards here making a variety of sounds, both musical and choir like. The Gadaut vocals are overlaid and the guitars are more subdued. Again, the message is dark and the vocals present it just as darkly:

Prince of Shades continues this dark exploration into the world of lost souls. The guitars get a little more airtime here, the sound is more metal oriented but the vocals continue their lovely, lonely path. Gothic themes always interested me, we usually get enough of the happy thoughts in our music, it’s interesting to explore the other option, and Benighted Soul demonstrates a strong understanding of this direction in both their lyrics and their music.

Bucephalus returns us to the Greek themes. Again, for those of you who slept through World History I and II, the name is taken from the most famous horse in the history of the planet, the one ridden by Alexander the Great to conquest and fame. The song returns to the epic approach although there is a truly inspired guitar segment that is a highlight of the music towards the end of the number. Benighted Soul doesn’t seem to feature the guitars much and that may be an oversight. This axe is really good, and deserves more feature. The song uses background voices as well with a choir that serves to highlight Gadaut’s soprano. Very nice stuff. Again, the lyrical theme is interpreted in a historical perspective:

Blood of Achilles takes another approach to the music. It is totally instrumental and cries out for a position in a movie sound track. It is heavily symphonic, very tightly written and performed. If you can’t see the 300 Spartans charging over the horizon with this one, you’re not paying attention. If you had any questions about Benighted Soul’s musical composition skills, this one will answer them.

The EP concludes with Anesidora, the title track. This title is a mini opera, some 5 and a half minutes long. It works as a dialog between Anesidora and Zeus and provides an interesting historical perspective into the relationship. Clearly, the most interesting song on the EP in terms of lyrics and equally strong in a musical sense. Gadaut and the male vocal take the lead in a duet format that features pretty much the entire range of Benighted Souls’ musical arsenal. You can follow the conversation until the end when it transfers to Greek. But, you get the message.

Benighted Soul is not a radical change from what we typically encounter in the French Symphonic Music scene. But, they do it as well as anyone. And that scene is known for its diversity and interesting themes as well as its outstanding music. Some things you just can’t get too much of.

9 / 10