CD Info
2011
Ravenheart Music / UK
9 Tracks
English Lyrics

The Dutch are typically known for the Symphonic Gothic, generally the Operatic variety and we all know it and love it. But, on occasion, they have been known for doing some ‘effin kick down the doors metal, and that’s what we have here. There is a symphonic component, and a damn good one, but this is metal to drive the soul into the darker regions of the Gothic realms where metal takes hold of mortal life and doesn’t let go. This is the kick ass variety, done as only the Dutch can do it. OFR is pretty new, this CD is just going live, and it can’t get there soon enough. We don’t get that formal soprano we typically expect from the Dutch, we don’t get the classical direction we get from an Ex Libris or some of the other more typical Dutch sounds. This is hard metal, with an exceptional female vocal and a backup metal band that tears down the doors, kicks the kids and demands ransom. Hide your money, take grandma home to a safer location, then turn up the stereo and prepare to be rocked.

I typically go for the more sedate stuff, at least most of the time. I like the ethereal stuff, especially when it comes with a death metal vocal to support the female soprano. But, there are those times, you know what I mean, those times when life needs a kick in the ass, when life is drifting and we need a course correction. And when those times come around, you want the thundering axe, you want the drums of hell, you want a woman who can explain what it’s all about and who’s not willing to take prisoners. Those times happen with more regularity as the years pass by, and music like this takes us into regions that suggest that continuity ain’t all that bad. . . keep the days coming, I want a little more, and I want it hard. OFR provides that direction, they make it clear that life has a base line and that covering it takes a sound to stir the soul, at least if that life wants to continue. Metal, done right, can be an elixir that nothing else can provide, a magical source of being that covers the expectant darkness with a light to reveal what is really important, a light to move us forward. And, it can do it as nothing else can.

So this is Only Fate Remains. The have a short history, at least under this name, but this is a sound that has been around for a long time, in one iteration or another. Previously, they were known as Trisomy, and that sound dates back to 1997, back before you were born, right? Or close, anyway. Guitarist Michiel van Veen is the only surviving member of that bunch, but he keeps the thundering metal from those days going. Others from that time have gone into different directions, guitarist Eric Hazebroek, for instance, is now thundering away with Stream of Passion. So, after the recent name change, the band can draw on some 14 years of kick ass metal for the present release, and that’s a lot of history to draw on. The inclusion of keyboardist Maarten Siem provides the symphonic and it’s a major component, and one to capture the darkest regions of the psyche. And the vocal you ask, well, that’s Eva Kokken, and hers is a vocal sound that will stop traffic, and only appropriate given the killer metal that this band kicks out, Lady Gaga just wouldn’t fit the bill, believe me.

Well, that’s the long and the short of it, some killer metal, a solid vocal and instrumental work to wake the dead, so expect to see your dear departed Aunt Matilda once you crank it up, probably boogying like hell. But, beyond that sound is the message, and you know I live for the message. And, we get it here, right from the get go. The first cut is Nightly Walks, and this ain’t no walk in the park. We get the darkness from right up front, and it leads to the metal, metal to stir the soul, howling guitars, crushing drums, a symphonic to provide direction, and then, vocals to keep you awake at night. Eva is nothing if not a communicator from the ethereal regions of hell, and she gets right to the point:

Demons all around
They’re hunting me down
Don’t know where to look now / Nightimes full of death
Fear and loneliness / Have made me restless
I feel so alone, trapped inside this world

Right, I sure ‘nuff believe we’ve left Country / Western behind, not that I don’t appreciate some good Bosevius or the Dixie Chicks. They just don’t visit the darkness with this level of intensity, or with these guitars. The crushing metal continues with the Fall. This one tunes it down a notch, down to slow death. The vocal takes a somewhat softer turn, kinda like cardiac arrest on a slow pulse as opposed to the quick "I’m outa here". Again, the guitars lead the way, a little less synmphonic and a more deliberate drum line. But it doesn’t stay there, not on this release.

The third selection is Shallow Water, kind of reminds me of the good ol’ days when I was into the thrill of water boarding, but that’s another story. Here we get a vocal driven metal, as would be appropriate with this interpretation of water theory. A solid guitar driven sound, with the vocals screaming to keep up, howling metal to drive the mind into realms of mystification. Lyrically we get:

Drowning in shallow water / How come
I have wondered / Breathing in nothing but dirt
To shut out the hurt / You immerse me with sorrow
I am afraid of tomorrow / Can’t survive on my own
I’m going under, facedown.

Yes sir, almost a theme song for Gitmo’s favorite intellectual pastime. And it’s followed by one of the CD’s few ballad like selections. This one is The Essence, and it takes us to a slower waltz. Such as it is on this CD. But, we do get a more relaxed interpretation of the Gothic refrain, even if it does continue our descent into the darker regions of Gothic mysticism.

The CD continues with a selection of hard and harder. If you like your guitars pounding, with a symphonic that will keep you awake at night and a vocal that speaks from beyond mortal understanding, you’re likely to stick with this material to the end. Hard to pick a favorite, I never actually stopped with one individual selection, I just kept it cranking. The Real You, Cravings, Lost, or any of the rest, it just keeps getting better. And the lyrics don’t disappoint. In fact, as the CD continues, we get more and more interesting musical developments. The production is good, maybe not spectacular, but, with this level of crush you can just let the music flow and get away with it.

So, I guess you get the feeling I like this CD. And I do. It doesn’t fit in with every social occasion. You might not select it for a baby shower, or, then again, you might. Just expect the kid to be a problem in school at some point. But, beyond that, this is Gothic metal to drive the mortal soul, it’s what you want on that special occasion when you need to move at a higher rate of speed, and for that purpose, it’s a 10. Solid metal, done Dutch style.

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