"The Edge of All I Know" CD
- reviewed by Rock It!

’The Edge Of All I Know’ ist das zweite Album von GWYLLION. Mit Annelore Vantomme haben die Belgier eine starke Sängerin, die sich hinter bekannten Metal-Frontsirenen wie Tarja Turunen oder Floor Jansen nicht zu verstecken braucht. Wer auf Symphonic Power Metal mit weiblicher Stimme steht, kommt an GWYLLION nicht vorbei.

8/10

By : JK (Rock It! - March 2009)

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"The Edge of All I Know" CD
- reviewed by Metal Message

Obwohl viele beziehungsweise eigentlich ja fast alle von euch diese belgische Band im aktuellen Fall erstmalig im Bewusstsein erfahren werden, sind Gwyllion doch schon dem Jahr 2003 aktiv. Doch kann das Zusammentreffen der Sinne mit ’The Edge Of All I Know’, dem neuen und zweiten Studioalbum dieser überaus talentierten Symphonic Power Metal-Formation, kann durchaus als absoluter Glücksgriff bezeichnet werden. Denn durch ihre wahrlich herausragende Vokalistin Annelore Vantomme gewinnt das herrlich hochmelodische, ja nicht selten gar wirklich hitstarke Material des hörenswerten Langspielers massiv an Klasse. Und darum erinnert mich ’The Edge Of All I Know’ auch nicht gerade wenig an frühe Edelkompositionen von Nightwish zu ihrer künstlerisch allerbesten Zeit. Erweckt werden auch Erinnerungen an etablierte Gruppen wie beispielsweise Visions Of Atlantis oder frühe Epica. Überhaupt, das belgische Ausnahmesextett besticht durch deutlich hörbare Durchdachtheit seiner trotz allem Klangdrucks auch berührend ästhetischen Lieder. Stücke, welche sich bereits schon nach ein- bis zweimaligem Durchlauf der Platte dauerhaft in den Trommelfellen einnisten. Und gerade Letzteres ist doch wohl nach wie vor eines der wichtigsten Gütekriterien auf Veröffentlichungen wie diesen überhaupt.

8/10

By : Markus Eck (Metal Message - March 2009)

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"The Edge of All I Know" CD
- reviewed by Ashladan

Sinds 6 maart is dit nieuwe album van Gwyllion te koop. Deze Kortrijkse female-fronted power metalgroep trok in de zomer van 2008 naar Zweden, om The Edge Of All I Know te laten producen door Jens Bogren (bekend van o.a. Amon Amarth en Opeth). En het is er eentje om er verdomd fier op te zijn! Later deze maand, 21 maart, vindt de releaseshow plaats van dit album in JH Tap in Kuurne. De band wordt op het podium vergezeld door twee Duitse groepen die bij dezelfde platenmaatschappij zijn aangesloten: The Claymore en Infinite Horizon.

De vorige cd, Awakening The Dream, werd zelf door de groep geproduced. Stuk voor stuk sublieme nummers, alleen het geluid kwam niet zo goed naar de voor. Maar dat neemt niet weg dat dit een pracht van een debuut-cd was. Begin dit jaar kende Gwyllion donkere tijden: zangeres Annelore verliet de groep wegens persoonlijke omstandigheden. Maar al snel werd dit probleem opgelost: Ann Van Rooy werd de nieuwe frontvrouw van de groep. Later dit jaar gaat Gwyllion op Europese tournee.

Maar nu even terug naar het kersverse album, waar alle typische Gwyllionelementen terug te vinden zijn. Ik ben absoluut een voorstander van openingsnummers, en daarom mag de intro hier in deze review niet ontbreken. In Silence Enclosed heeft een speciale opbouw die je alvast nieuwsgierig maakt naar wat het album verder te bieden heeft. Dit nummer vloeit over in het volgende nummer: Entwined. Stevige drums, keyboards en ronkende gitaren. De stem van (inmiddels ex-zangeres) Annelore maakt het plaatje compleet. In Void komt de mannenzang van broers Joris (keyboards) en Martijn (guitars) duidelijk naar voor. Geen grunts, geen screams, alleen ’clean vocals’, en dat maakt het allemaal zo mooi. We gaan verder naar Rage, dat toch wel het meest heftige nummer van de cd mag genoemd worden. Uiteraard zal ik niet ieder nummer bespreken, ik laat ook nog iets over voor de andere luisteraars. Toch wil ik het nog even hebben over The Night Awakes. In dit nummer ruilt Martijn zijn gitaar even in voor een mandoline. Een heel verrassend en geslaagd nummer als je het mij vraagt! Als laatste nummer waar ik nog iets over wil neerschrijven, en eveneens het laatste op het album: Angelheart. Een prachtige outro die onmisbaar is op deze cd, volledig gericht op keyboards en Annelore’s stem. Het hoort in het rijtje thuis van de rustige nummers, zoals Lonely van After Forever of Forgiven van Within Temptation.

Hou je van groepen zoals Nightwish en After Forever, dan is deze cd zeker onmisbaar in je collectie (en wat een prijs, slechts 12,50 euro). De stevige productie zorgde ervoor dat alle elementen duidelijk naar voor kwamen. Daarbij komen ook nog de lyrics, wat het album zeer sterk maakt. Ook de lay-out is erg aangenaam: duidelijke tekst, omgeven door mooie illustraties en achtergronden. Dat alles schept een speciale sfeer bij het beluisteren van de cd.

Beoordeling: 9/10

By : Our Solemn Hour (Ashladan - March 2009)

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"The Edge of All I Know" CD
- reviewed by Online City Rock

Die Band haben wir Euch ausfürlich im vergangenen Heft vorgestelt. "The Edge of All I Know" ist wirklich eine verdammt geile CD geworden - mit tollen weiblichen Vocals, einer absolut gut durchkonstruierten Instrumentallinie und Songs wie "Entwined", "Void" oder "Rage", die man als einfach mögen muss. Liebhaber von Metal-, Folk- und female-fronted Rock sollten zugreifen!

11/12

By : Online City Rock - March 2009

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"The Edge of All I Know" CD
- reviewed by Dark Festivals

Am 3. April erscheint mit "The Edge of All I Know" das zweite Album der belgischen Band Gwyllion. Geboten wird Power- beziehungsweise Symphonic Metal mit weiblichem Gesang.

Ob die sechs Musiker damit punkten können erfahrt ihr in der Rezension.

"The Edge of All I Know" wartet mit neun Liedern, einem Intro und einer Gesamtspielzeit von 52 Minuten auf. Gesungen wird auf Englisch.

Das Intro "In Silence Enclosed" verleiht dem Album einen herausragenden Einstieg. Es ist derart episch und mitreißend wie man es im Normalfall höchstens von Pagan- oder Viking-Metal-Alben erwarten würde. Ein solch heroisches Intro mit Streichern, Trommeln, Chor-Elementen und allem was das Herz begehrt verwundert auf einem Power/Symphonic-Metal-Album schon richtig.

Im Anschluss wird neun Stücke lang genau das geboten, was man von Power- und Symphonic Metal erwartet. Die Musik schreitet ebenso schnell wie melodisch voran, das Klangbild ist hell und wird von klassischen Einwürfen vor Allem seitens des Keyboardes vervollständigt. Über alledem ragt der rundum überzeugende Gesang von Frontfrau Annelore.

An sich weiß der Sound also zu gefallen. Ein Manko ist allerdings, dass wenig variiert wird. Die Stücke unterscheiden sich untereinander nur unwesentlich, oft wirken sie zu sehr "wie aus einem Guss". Mit "Angelheart" endet das Album zwar in einer schönen Klavierballade, die übrigen Stücke ähneln sich aber doch etwas zu stark.

By : Stefan Frühauf (Dark Festivals - March 2009)

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"The Edge of All I Know" CD
- reviewed by Thoughts of Metal

From Wikipedia: "Gwyllion or gwyllon (plural noun from the singular Gwyll or (Yr) Wyll "twilight, loaming") is a Welsh word with a wide range of possible meanings including "ghosts, spirits," "night-wanderers (human or supernatural) up to no good, outlaws of the wild" etc. Gwyllion is only one of a number of words with these or similar meanings in Welsh. It is a comparatively recent word coined inadvertently in the 17th century by the Welsh lexicographer Dr John Davies (Mallwyd)."

GWYLLION is also the name of a Belgian Symphonic female-fronted Metal band, who has been alive since the fall of 2003, thanks to the uniting forces of Annelore Vantomme (vocals) and the brothers Debonnet (Martijn on guitar, Joris on keyboards and Wouter on drums). It seems that bassist Thomas Halsberghe has also been around since the beginning, so let’s count him as well. The first output was a demo, "Forever Denying the Never", recorded with Valerie Vanhoutte on vocals, as Annelore had personal obligations, after which she returned in 2006. At the same time a second guitarist was brought in, Steve Deleu, and the renewed line-up made a first album, "Awakening The Dream", self-released in 2007. This got the band support slots for acts like AFTER FOREVER, HAGGARD, D:S:O:, a consignation deal with LSP Records, and a licensing deal with Rubicon Music in Japan.

I had the honour and pleasure to see the band live for the first time in 2008 at Frostrock. And I was sold afterwards, as you could read in my report. That’s also when I bought their album, which hasn’t disappointed me yet and never will (I hope). The second time was a few months later, in a local bar, and that too was very much worth it. But of course lots of people were on the lookout for a new album.

GWYLLION entered the studio in the spring of 2008 to record the second album, "The Edge Of All I Know", which was recently released (6th of March). The production/mix/mastering took place in Sweden at the Fascination Street Studios, domain of Jens Bogren (OPETH, AMON AMARTH, KATATONIA, PARADISE LOST, OCEANS OF SADNESS, ...). For the release the band signed with the German label Black Bards Entertainment and Rubicon Music in Japan will deal with it over there. On the 6th of March there was also a listening session at a local bar, Den Deugniet. The chatter with the band members was of course an entertaining and informative and it was nice to meet the new vocalist Ann Van Rooy. The first gig, also a release party, is scheduled on the 21st of March, so that also puts a lot of pressure on Ann’s shoulders, replacing the beautiful (it must be said, yes) and amazing vocalist Annelore Vantomme, who again left the band due to not being able to tour.

Several months before the release and before having signed a deal, the band put a teaser on their MySpace page. "The Edge Of All I Know" was a highly anticipated album and already from that teaser you, well, I could tell GWYLLION would take the world by storm, so to speak. The quality of the material was astounding, even if the snippets were very short.

"In Silence Enclosed" opens the album with a symphonic/orchestral intro, including dark piano accents, slowly working towards a bigger outcome. Choirs are added and little by little the majestic feeling grows, building a tension that will soon snap. That alone is an indication of the splendor that awaits... the uptempo, guitar-driven "Entwined". Aggressive riffing, epic keyboard backing and a tight force to push it all onwards, lead by Annelore’s heavenly, yet powerful voice. But she also goes for a softer approach in what you could call the bridge. Musically this isn’t straight-forward Metal, since the band added enough elements to break the tempo, but keeping the flow intact, for the better of the song. The symbiosis of guitars and keyboards - or heaviness and melodies - is very well worked out and the several layers require you to listen several times to discover it all. GWYLLION already played this song live on several occasions, and it definitely is one of the best tracks on this album.

Next is the midtempo "Void" (also played on several occasions), again providing a nice contrast between the aggressive guitars and playful melodies. Wouter is an extremely skilled drummer and he knows how and when to add accents and fills without overdoing it. At first I thought he could add some more, but after a few listens it became clear this would disturb the flow and overall feel of the song. Annelore’s singing gets neatly backed in the chorus by Martijn and Joris. Very nice around halfway is the sudden drop in heaviness, a sort of moment of peace before htting back ever so hard, and at the same time giving the instruments the chance to do the talking (piano, guitar leads). The drums are high in the mix, and that’s both necessary for the music GWYLLION plays and totally not disturbing for the rest of the instrumentation. Everything comes out very well, melodies, riffing, bass, vocals. And I garantee you, this is more than first class material. Absolutely stunning!

"Rage" is an all-explaining title. The guitars rage on like a madman, the drums thunder as if hell broke loose and Annelore sounds like a furious amazone and you don’t want to mess with a furious amazone, oh no. Don’t worry, she doesn’t yell, rather sings firm and with dignity. The piano doodle in combination with the rolling Metal is well thought of. The bombastic symphonic moment together with the solos (guitar and piano taking turns) forms a beautiful intermezzo before the chorus comes back. Over halfway you then get a break of epic proportions in an atmosphere as if the character is gasping for air, finding a way out of the insanity, which takes control again in the last part of the song. I have played this song many times after in a row and it just doesn’t bore. In fact, I really would like to see how the band pulls this one off live.

After all this expression of insanity, solitude, misery, frustration and similar, it’s time to calm down... musically. "Beyond Goodbye" is one of those resting points, at least for a little while. Electric guitars are replaced by accoustic ones, the singing is much more toned down, softer. That’s the first part with the verses in which a gentle but sad symphonic layer is added (violins, cello), once the chorus is there more power is added as the electric instrumentation takes over. The singing then also sounds like a cry for help or even a last cry before the life’s flame is extinguished. Martijn’s and Joris’s backing vocals make the vocal parts more complete and when the middle-section is reached the drama level increases, when readng the dark lyrics. All things considered, this is probably the saddest song on the album, in high contrast with the heaviest/most aggressive, "Rage".

The special element about "The Night Awakes", a track that brings back power and majesty, is the mandolin (played by Martijn) in the intro, after which the melody is carried on by the rest of the band and of course electric instrumentation. "Beyond Goodbye" was a very emotional song, but so is this song here, especially in the part around the middle of the playtime. Guitars play a very important role, not only for the fullness of the music or the power, but also when it comes to offering some melodic leads when there’s need to take it more easy. The mandolin also ends the song, helped by the symphonic assistance.

A song with balls, "Rage". But it’s best to have two balls, so in comes "Closure". Pounding drums, heavy, growling guitars and dark piano melodies. Key elements that help Annelore bring out the best of her capabilities. The piano is, by the way, a key instrument in this song. Mind you, Joris can keep up with the rapid pace and active playing. Another positive aspect is that everything flows smoothly into each other, by which I mean that the tempo changes, the rhythm, the progressiveness (so to speak) is quite simply perfect. Add a double guitar solo, after which keyboards get their moment of fame, to spice the song for a taste you can’t get enough of.

A picture says more than "A Thousand Words", as the saying goes. This is another of my favourite tracks on "The Edge Of All I Know". A weeping cello playing the lead melody, while short bursts of heavy guitars and drums (Wouter keeping a steady and tight beat) heavily contrast and at the same time are compatible with the cello. Both options work: make it a sad song from start to finish and it’s very good. Make it a sad song with added power to make the burden less painful and it’s also very good. The guitars an drums do reinforce/stress the feeling of sadness, melancholy, depression, no matter how active and Casey Grillo-like Wouter drums. This is a song that can easily bring tears to my eyes and the drop in heaviness in the last few minutes - where it’s just the piano, drums, bass and Annelore’s divine voice - makes me speechless. "A Thousand Words", and I can’t find any that are good enough to describe or tag this song.

By now it’s obvious that nothing can go wrong anymore, that GWYLLION isn’t the band to suddenly add a filler. "Roots Of Reality" is the last one to add a new load of energy and power, although it’s more about the feel, the atmosphere than really give the music another boost before putting an end to it. This track would do well as final song on a setlist. Everyone is playing at ease, even Wouter, who does add some accents here and there. Special element here are the vocals, as Annelore even tries some operatic singing, reaching for the high notes. It’s a surprise, and one that can only be commended. But to be honest, I prefer her normal voice, which sounds fuller and more attractive. "Roots Of Reality" is also the longest song on the album, clocking in shortly before the 8th minute marker. Around the 5th minute all heaviness falls away and is replaced by gentle symphonics and accoustic guitarwork, of which the melody is picked up by the eletric instrumentation. At the same time there’s Annelore adding angelic chanting. But this doesn’t last too long, as the accoustic part takes over again until the end. Since this is another strong song, the Belgians show they can write long songs, too, offering the same level of quality as with the shorter ones.

Full-on Power Metal is a no-brainer for Annelore, but what can she do without electric backing? The piano ballad "Angelheart" - very different from what preceded, perfect as ending song and for once putting Joris in the spotlights - is the clear proof that this kind of songs demands an effort, as the voice is not surrounded/covered/masked by instruments. Both members do a very good job. The soft and gentle singing comes out very well and shows a different side of Annelore’s singing. Even if I prefer the Metal songs, this last track fits quite well: begin the album with a tension-building intro, end with a tensionless song.

It’s been some time since I last heard an album that held my attention for days in a row - meaning playing it every day, even two, three times in a row without signs of boredom or similar - and it makes me all the more happy it’s a Belgian band, even from my region, that succeeded this time. "The Edge Of All I Know" has been played like hell, even in my head, since in several songs there are melodies or rhythms that keep sticking. GWYLLION has more than fulfilled my expectations. I said in my report of Frostrock 2008 that "GWYLLION is a must to see and hear, and have great potential to become bigger.". The new album, with deserved credit to Jens Bogren for the excellent production, cannot be a bigger proof of that. The signing to Black Bards Entertainment, as small as the label may be, should help to get the word out and make GWYLLION score at least a European tour with bigger acts. Symphonic Power Metal with a Progressive touch, for fans of KAMELOT, AFTER FOREVER, RHAPSODY (OF FIRE), NIGHTWISH, AYREON and more, but definitely as worth the investment as these bigger bands. I don’t dare to make decisions or predictions in terms of the Best Of 2009, but this is one hell of a candidate.

By : Tim Vervaeke (Thoughts of Metal - March 2009)

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"The Edge of All I Know" CD
- reviewed by Metal.de

"The Edge Of All I Know" nennt sich die zweite Langrille, die die Belgier namens GWYLLION auf die wilde Meute loslassen. Mit einem überaus genialen Cover und einer wunderschönen Aufmachung zusätzlich bereichert, macht sich das Album von selbst auf, um die großen, weiten Welten und ausgetrampelten Pfade des Metals mit weiblichem Gesang zu erobern.

Nach einem offiziellen Debüt-Album und ein, zwei kleineren Veröffentlichungen, veröffentlicht die Band rund um Frontkehlchen Annelore Vantomme nun endlich den bereits sehnlichst erwarteten Nachfolger.

Den geneigten Fan erwartet auf der neuen Scheibe nichts anderes, als er ohnehin von vornherein erwartet hatte. Total eingängiger, manchmal rasend schneller, Symphonic Metal mit einer grandiosen Frontfrau und ohrensausenden Keyboard-Linien.

Die bratenden Gitarren tragen ihr Übriges zu dieser explosiven Mischung bei. Die ständigen Wechsel zwischen schnellen und langsamen Passagen tun dem Gesamteindruck der Platte überaus gut. Deutlich ist das vor allem beim genialen "Void". Doch nicht nur das zeichnet die Musik der Belgier aus...

Neben schnellen Tracks ("Entwined"), findet sich natürlich auch die obligatorische Ballade am Ende des Albums ("Angelheart") wieder. Auch wenn "The Edge Of All I Know" nicht unbedingt etwas ganz Besonderes ist, merkt man dem Album doch eine verwegene Eigenständigkeit an. Ich kann nicht ganz beurteilen, ob es an den gut überlegten Keyboard-Einsprengseln oder der zauberhaften Frontstimme liegt.

Vantomme hat nämlich eine beeindruckende Bandbreite drauf. Während sie manches Mal wie Sharon den Adel von WITHIN TEMPTATION klingt, kann sie ihre Stimme in anderen Passagen wieder ganz nach unten trimmen. Sie klingt eigenständig und ist das wahre Kapital der Band. Neben dem guten Songwriting natürlich.

Auch Folk-Elemente haben es auf die Platte geschafft und somit ist die pure Abwechslung zu hundert Prozent gegeben. Die ein oder andere Passage hätte man sich vielleicht sparen können und Luft nach oben bleibt der Band auch noch, aber trotzdem muss man offen und ehrlich zugeben, dass GWYLLION mit "The Edge Of All I Know" ein wahrlich gelungener Metal-Streich gelungen ist.

Eingängig, nett anzuhören und überaus eigenständig. Seltene Faktoren in diesem Genre, die der Band noch zusätzliche Pluspunkte verschaffen. Eine gutklassige Scheibe, die auf einen noch besseren Nachfolger und hoffentlich auch kommerziellen Erfolg der Band wartet.

By : Mathias Klammer (Metal.de - March 2009)

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"The Edge of All I Know" CD
- reviewed by Inn-Joy

Gwyllion - unter anderem das walisische Wort für Geist und Seele, aber auch der Name einer Band aus Belgien, die bereits seit 2004 die Metalwelt bereichert. Nach einem zeitlich bedingten Tausch der Sängerin Annelore Vantomme gegen die ebenso talentierte Ann Van Rooy sind sie nun 2009 mit ihrem neuen Album The Edge Of All I Know wieder am Start und beweisen ihr Gespür für guten Metal - in zehn knalligen Songs, bei denen Annelores ganze Stimmgewalt zum Vorschein kommt.

Der Beginn des Albums, namentlich In Silence Enclosed, ist gegen den Rest allerdings noch ganz ’zutraulich’. Leise und langsam beginnend, dann eine packende Melodie, die an den Siegeszug einer mittelalterlichen Armee erinnert, oder den Abspann eines Heldenfilmes, und schließlich die ersten Anzeichen, dass dieses Album mit Sicherheit alles andere als leise und sanft werden wird. Das wird spätestens beim fließenden Übergang zu Track zwei, Entwined klar. Obwohl sehr klar dem Metal zuzuordnen ein sehr melodisches Stück und mit von Talent zeugenden Gitarren- und Keyboardeinlagen gespickt. Dazu Annelores gewaltige Stimme, die Jungs der Band im Hintergrund - fertig ist der perfekte Einstieg ins Album.

Song Nummer drei, Void, wird eindeutig von den Gitarren getragen. Anns Stimme tritt fast sogar in den Hintergrund, da der Hörer von den überwältigenden Gitarrenriffs gefesselt wird. Gegen Ende des Liedes hört man schließlich auch das Keyboard deutlich, und dieser instrumentale Part zeugt definitiv von großem Musikgespür.

Wer das Album bis zu diesem Punkt nun schon hart fand, wird bei Track vier - Rage - sein blaues Wunder erleben. Ein fast an Eisregen erinnerndes Gitarrengeschraddel eröffnet und bestimmt den Hintergrund, während der Gesang früheren Werken von Nightwish nahe kommt. Langweilig ist der Song dadurch aber auf keinen Fall, im Gegenteil - Mitwippen oder zumindest ein klein wenig Kopfnicken ist hier Pflicht. Genau das geht bei Beyond Goodbye nicht wirklich. Song Nummer fünf ist eine waschechte Metalballade, wie sie im Buche steht. ’Ruhig’ in Sinne der lauten Musik eben, dabei schwermütig und so gar nicht wie die anderen Tracks. The Night Awakes, der Folgetrack, nimmt den Schwermut jedoch gleich wieder. Ein Kompliment an die eingängige Melodie des Liedes, die ein wenig an mittelalterliche Rittergesänge erinnert. Der etwas ruhigere Part um zwei Minuten herum bietet dem geschulten Headbanger eine kurze Verschnaufpause, bis es weitergeht mit den rhythmischen Haare kreisen lassen, das auch bei Closure, einem der heftigsten Songs auf dem Album, problemlos aufrechterhalten werden kann. Extrem gelungen ist hier vor allem die Mischung aus heftigen und filigranen Teilen, dazu die sehr schlagzeugbasierten Gitarrenriffs und das Keyboard, dass dem ganzen eine fast hektische Atmosphäre verleiht. Das ist aber mehr Schein als Sein, denn der Song hat durchaus auch ruhigere Passagen, in denen Annelore ihr ganzes Stimmspektrum zur Schau stellen kann. Der Song ist eine rundum gelungene Mischung aus heftigen und melodischen Elementen, und seine sechs Minuten scheinen wie im Flug zu vergehen.

A Thousand Words ist ein kleiner Fiesling. Startet er doch sehr symphonisch, knallen einem bereits kurz darauf die üblichen harten Riffs entgegen. Stimmungskiller? Keineswegs! Annelore erhält das Melodisch-Sanfte des Anfangs problemlos aufrecht und das schließlich einsetzende Keyboard verleiht dem Ganzen einen orchestral anmutenden Touch. Der Folgesong, Roots Of Reality, ist der längste des Albums. Knappe acht Minuten beweist Annelore ihre Stimmgewalt, die eine wahre Berg- und Talfahrt darstellt. Ein weiteres Mal erinnert es an Nightwish, dieses Mal allerdings rein stimmlich gesehen. Ein großer Teil des Songs hat den Schwerpunkt Gitarre, und die instrumentalen Parts gefallen mir um einiges besser, als der Gesang. Das ist in Angelheart, dem abschließenden Track, ähnlich. Ausschließlich von Piano begleitet lässt er das Album ausklingen, entlässt den Hörer auf eine ebenso ruhige Art, wie er ihn an das Album herangeführt hat. Das Piano erinnert an die Final Fantasy-Soundtracks von Komponist Nobuo Uematsu, und das ist, zumindest für mich, ein absoluter Bonuspunkt.

10/10

By : Sandra Bentz (Inn-Joy - March 2009)

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"The Edge of All I Know" CD
- reviewed by Metal Roxx

Nachschub aus symphonischen Gefielden kommt am 3. April aus Belgien in die Stores. Gwyllion liefern mit "The Edge of all I know" ein hervorragend arrangiertes und produziertes Full Length Album ab das sich keineswegs vor renommierten Bands mit weiblichen Vocals verstecken muss. Im Gegenteil, hier kommt hammermäßige Konkurrenz für alle Vertreter des Symphonic-Metal Genres!

Beim ersten Hören schaltet man die Ohren schon ganz schnell auf den sensibleren Modus, um das volle Spektrum dieser Produktion auch richtig eingestellt geniessen zu können. Schon das Intro "In Silence enclosed" sorgt für pure Anspannung und animiert sofort den Griff zum Lautstärkeregler. Da paart sich druckvoll Emotion mit Erwartung, und die wird durch die eindringliche Stimme von Sängerin Annelore Vantomme nach dem Übergang zu "Entwined" schnell zum "Höhepunkt" geprügelt!

Gwyllion,- das sind: Martijn Debonnet (guitars & backing vocals), Steve Deleu (guitars), Thomas Halsberghe (bass), Joris Debonnet (keys & backing vocals), Wouter Debonnet (Drums) und wie schon geschildert, Annelore Vantomme mit ihrer grandiosen Stimme.

Viel hörte man in der Vergangenheit nicht von der im Herbst 2003 gegründeten Gruppe, die nach ihrer Demo "Forever Denying the Never" (2004) mit "Awakening the Dream" (2007) eigentlich ein recht gutes Debüt-Album vorgelegt hatten. Umso erfreulicher, dass das hier vorliegende neue Werk von Gwyllion einen gehörigen Sprung nach Vorne macht, nicht zuletzt in punkto Qualität und Performance. Mit den Arrangements eines jeden der 10 Tracks hat sich die Band ganz sicher sehr lange auseinandergesetzt, das beweist die hohe Ausgefeiltheit der einzelnen Songs. Jedes Instrument scheint an genau der richtigen Stelle aktiv zu sein und wird mit einer selten anzutreffenden Perfektion gespielt, dabei setzten die Akteure sehr viel Wert auf Variantenreichtum und ausgefallene Soundkombinationen. Und über All dem schwebt die fordernde, energische Stimme von Annelore.

Auf Nummer Sicher ging man, indem man keinen geringeren als Jens Bogren (Opeth, Katatonia, Pain of Salvation, Amon Amarth) wählte, der "The Edge of all I know" in den "Fascination Street Studios" in Schweden produziert. Eine sehr gute Wahl,- wie ich finde, denn was ist eine hervorragende Produktion wert wenn kein halbwegs bekannter Name dahintersteht?

Mein Fazit:

Jeder Song dieses Album fasziniert auf seine eigene Weise, ob Full Speed ala "Closure", oder softe Ballade wie "Angelheart", hier ist alles dabei was Symphonic-Metal ausmacht, ausgereift, hochprofessionell und mit viel Engagement eingespielte Songs unterstrichen von einer tollen Stimme. Klanglich perfekt gemastert, erfährt dieses Werk auf hochwertigen Anlagen sogar nochmals eine Steigerung die "The Edge of all I know" einen verdienten Zusatzpunkt in meiner Wertung beschert!

Metalroxx Tipp des Monats April!!!

Punkte: 9/10

By : Andy (Metal Roxx - March 2009)

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"The Edge of All I Know" CD
- reviewed by Metal Earth

Rezept ohne Beipackzettel? Eigentlich undenkbar, oder? Bei Promos ist es das Gleiche. In der Regel enthält dieser Zettel nur einen Bruchteil der Infos, die der Redakteur für seine Arbeit benötigt. Nicht so bei den Werken von Black Bards Entertainment. Die in der Regel mehrseitige Packungsbeilage enthält alle Infos, die man in irgendeiner Weise gebrauchen könnte und noch viel mehr. Studioreport, Biographie, Band-Vorstellung und vieles mehr - Da lacht das Herz. Das ist allerdings gar nichts verglichen an den Freudensprüngen, die der Redakteur macht, wenn die musikalischen Aspekte halten, was die Beilage verspricht. Damit wären wir direkt beim Thema, denn beim neusten Output der Belgier von Gwyllion passt beides.

Die fünf Mannen um Goldkelchen Annelore Vantomme spielen Symphonic Metal, ohne dabei wie die x-te Nightwish oder Within Temptation-Kopie anzumuten. Auch verliert sich die Arbeit der Instrumentalfraktion nicht in übertriebenen Bombast-Orgien - das zweite große Risiko, welchem eine Symphonic Metal Band zu begegnen hat. Stattdessen ist das Gitarrenspiel und das Drumming prägnant in das Gesamtbild eingebunden und sorgt für eine nötige Portion Schmackes im Sound. Für weiche und eingängige Momente sind die Keys verantwortlich, welche ihre Aufgabe dezent mit Bravour meistern. Auf diesem Background kann Annelore nahezu perfekt aufbauen und die volle Bandbreite ihrer tollen Stimme darlegen. Zudem zeichnet "The edge of all I know" eine immer wieder durchschimmernde Folk-Schlagseite aus. Besonders deutlich wird dies bei "The night awakens". Flöten, Leiern und wie sie alle heißen - hier dürfte jedes Folk-Herz lautstark aufjubeln. Wer denkt, dass die Belgier damit ihr Pulver verschossen hätten, den muss ich an dieser Stelle enttäuschen. Das Beste steht zu diesem Zeitpunkt noch bevor, in Form des Doppelpacks "A thousand words" und "Roots of reality". Zwei absolut epische Songs, in sich abgerundet mit einer facettenreichen Gitarrenarbeit und noch besseren Vocals (vor allem bei zweiterer Nummer). Das hätte Chuck Norris nicht besser gekonnt! Diesen Satz kann ich leider nicht unter das gesamte Review setzen. Gwyllion fehlt teilweise das Näschen für absolut formvollendete Höhepunkte. Das fällt beim Hören der Scheibe nicht negativ auf, verhindert aber gleichzeitig die richtig hohen Wertungen, weil insgesamt "etwas" fehlt.

Das ändert nichts an der Tatsache, dass "The edge of all I know" eine tolles Symphonic Metal Album geworden ist, welches den Vergleich mit den Szenegrößen nicht scheuen braucht. Die in allen Tonlagen perfekte Gesangsstimme von Frau Vantomme trifft auf eine eigenständige Backgroundarbeit, der teilweise leider die richtig grandiosen Höhepunkte fehlen.

Anspieltipps: A thousand words, Roots of reality.

By : Torben Knöpfler (Metal Earth - March 2009)

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"The Edge of All I Know" CD
- reviewed by Metal Austria

Belgische Metal Bands drängen immer mehr auf den Resteuropäischen Metalmarkt das es einfach unglaublich ist. Unglaublich deshalb weil diese Bands egal welchen Grenestyles sie frönen soviel Qualität haben, dass man locker im Wettstreit der Bands weit oben mitmischt. Belgien bietet also nicht nur herbes Chemobier bzw. gute Schokolade, nein auch die Metal Formationen werden immer mehr zum Exportschlager dieses Landes. Heute stelle ich euch die Herrschaften von Gwyllion vor, die bei Black Bards Entertainment unter Vertrag stehen. Ann Van Rooy (voc), Joris Debonnet (keys), Martijn Debonnet (guit & voc), Steve Deleu (guit) und Thomas Halsberghe (drums & flute) werkeln bereits seit 2003 zusammen und haben bis dato ein Demo "Forever Denying the Never" (2003) und ein Full Length Album mit dem Namen "Awakening the Dream" (2007) veröffentlicht. Nach zweijähriger Pause ist man nun mit dem neuesten Machwerk "The Edge of All I Know" zurück, welches am 03.04.09 in den Plattenläden stehen wird. Wer auf eine gute Mischung aus Symphonic Power Metal steht der bekommt hier die Vollbedienung.

Mit einer Filmmusikreifen Eröffnung wartet die belgische Formation zu Beginn mit "In Silence Enclosed" auf. Schöne symphonische und heroische Klänge lassen viel Spielraum für Fantasyfilme Fantasien. Eine sehr gut gelungene Eröffnung die man vollends bei voller Lautstärke genießen sollte. "Entwined" hebt einen binnen Sekunden aus den Träumen, denn hier wird eine temporeiche Weiterleitung durchgeführt. Die Vocalistin macht nicht einen auf Soprano, nein sie bleibt im mittleren Bereich mit ihrem Organ, welches auch einige rauere Momente bietet. Einige Paralellen zu Kimberly Goss von Sinergy lassen sich hier ausmachen, jedoch klingt Ann deutlich lieblicher und warmherziger. Die Rhythmusfraktion hat viel skandinavische Luft geschnuppert und auch einige nordisch, folkige Rhythmen hat man hier für uns parat. Bei den schnellen Parts drückt die Truppe einen sehr speedigen Stempel auf, der zum Headbangen bis zum Umfallen einlädt. "Void" ist nun etwas traditioneller im Power Metal Bereich angesiedelt. Die Gitarreros sägen hier einen kompletten Wald um, auch wenn man immer mehr in eine Midtempolastigere Ecke driftet. Zwar hat man einige ältere Trademarks intus, diese werden aber von vielen moderneren, Gothiclastigen Trademarks aufgepeppt. Sehr harmonisch hat man alles wie ein Mosaikbild zusammengepusselt und man zeigt viele Experimente und Wechsel die nicht zu überladen auf den Silberling gestanzt wurden. "Rage" donnert nun mit viel Feuer unterm Hintern recht speedig daher. Hier schrettert die Gitarrenfraktion ein Programm welches dem Hörer wie ein eisiger Wind um die Ohren weht. Die Solis die uns hier die Seitenhexer kredenzen sind Ambrosia für die Lauscherchen und die warmherzige Stimme der Fronterin macht hier ihr übriges. Hat sie noch zu Beginn etwas rauer ihren Beitrag geleistet so begibt sich Madame hier deutlich mehr in die höheren Tonlagen auf. Dennoch bleibt sie am Boden der Realität und versucht nicht einen auf Singdohle zu machen. Mit einer recht flotten, akustischen Gitarreneröffnung läutet man nun "Beyond Goodbye" ein. Nur die sanfte Stimme der Fronterin steuert alles in eine eher balladeske Richtung. Nach etwa einer Minute zeigt man etliche flottere, Ausreißer, bevor die Truppe wieder zum begonnnen Spiel zurück kehrt. Die theatralischen Soundfragmente sind eine weitere Bereicherung für den Track und lassen in sehr komplex und durchdacht klingen. Die Streicherarrangements sind einfach göttlich und wurden als zusätzlicher Bonus eingeflochten. Sehr folkloristisch beginnt nun "The Night Awakes", welches nun wieder etwas mehr in die skandinavische Metallandschaft blicken lässt. Viele nordischere und melodischere Klänge, mit etwas weniger Bombast hat man hier für uns Parat. Vom Tempo her begibt man sich zwar auf eine etwas flottere Fahrt, jedoch lässt man die Zügel schön straff. Dadurch hat man einen sehr Pagan Metal lastigen Track geschaffen, der nur durch den ausdrucksstarken Gesang der Sängerin nicht zulässt das man in dieser Ecke werkelt. Viel heroisches Flair versprühen die Belgier hier, welches viel Fun und Sinn macht. Kantiger, rauer und zackiger geht es nun weiter mit "Closure". Zwar dominiert der Bombastanteil etwas mehr, aber die Gitarrenfraktion lässt hier wieder das volle Brett durchblicken. Des Öfteren wird immer wieder in die sanfte Ecke gesteuert bei der man kurzzeitig verweilt, bevor man wieder das Pedal merklich drückt. Viele farbenbunte Verspieltheiten werden hier geboten, die zu einem schönen Hörgenuss zusammengestrickt wurden. "A Thousand Words" beginnt nun mit viel Melancholie, welche durch die Streicherarrangements geliefert werden. Danach brettert die Seitenfraktion ein sehr raues und erdiges Programm. Die Fahrt wird zwar weiterhin auf einem sehr flotten Gewässer durchgeführt und nur das Frontfräulein holt die Jungs wieder zurück. Mit typischen und sehr schönen Melodieriffs wird nun "Roots of Reality" eröffnet. Im Anschluss wird eine stampfende Ausrichtung gewählt, bei der die Sängerin öfters in höheren Sphären überzeugen kann ohne dabei kläglich zu versagen. Sehr sanft und ruhig mit einem klassischen Klavierbeitrag schiebt man nun "Angelheart" nach. Nightwish und Co Fans von ruhigeren Tracks bekommen hier die volle Breitseite geboten. Die ruhige Ausrichtung behält man bei und zum Schluss hat man noch eine sehr warmherzige und liebliche Ballade für uns parat, welche viel Spielraum für Träumereien einräumt.

Fazit: Singery gibt es ja bekanntlich nicht mehr und wer auf eine gute Portion Symphonic Power Metal a la Almora steht, für den sind diese Belgier genau das Richtige.

By : Metal Austria - March 2009

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"The Edge of All I Know" CD
- reviewed by Burn Your Ears

Bombastisch-fantastisches Cover, bombastisch-symphonisches Intro; und damit wird man ganz gut aufs Wesentliche eingestimmt: Melodischer Power Metal trifft auf "Female fronted symphonic Metal".

Und das Zweitwerk des belgischen Familienunternehmens [drei Mann hören auf den Namen Debonnet (g., key., dr.)] bereichert das Metier. Erst mal kompositorisch; normalerweise zwingt die unerträgliche Seichtigkeit des Genres den Rezensenten ja seine Arbeit bei Lautstärke 1 zu verrichten. Was sollen bloß die Nachbarn denken? - Natürlich vergehen sich auch GWYLLION mal an Tri-True-Tralala-Melodiechen. Und träufeln Einem als unrühmlichen Ausklang die unvermeidbare Ballade ins Ohr.
Aber dagegen stehen auch viele gute Linien, die nicht schon beim erstmaligen Hören apathisch mitgepfiffen werden.
Eingängig, aber nicht banal. Schön, aber nicht (zu) schmalzig. Und vor allem: die Jungs an den Metal Instrumenten lassen es (für’s Genre) auch mal richtig knacken. Und weil der Mann an den Tasten Einen nicht mit absonderlichen Modulationen und Pseudo-Klassik nervt, (wenn klassisch, dann richtig) sondern tatsächlich einen atmosphärischen Teppich ausbreitet, auf dem die Gitarren, mal speedig, mal Mid-Tempo, tatsächlich noch nach Metal ohne Weichspüler klingen können. Ergo sind GWYLLION tatsächlich auch etwas für Männer und nicht nur für Kinder und tätowierte Buchhalterinnen. - Weil obendrein geile Folk-Harmonien in das metallisch-symphonische Gerüst eingelassen sind, haben vielleicht außer mir noch andere Anhänger des Hörner-Metals ihren Spaß.

Echte Männer fragen natürlich auch nach der Technik. Und die ist zweifelsfrei grenzwertig. Glasklar und voll auf den Punkt. Alles kommt hart, konturiert und folglich sehr modern und etwas klinisch. Aber das muss hier wohl so sein. Notwendig, um allen Instrumentalisten den Spielraum zu geben, individuell zu glänzen während sie mannschaftsdienlich rocken. Bei einem Sextett sollte es nun mal anders klingen als bei VENOM oder DARKTHRONE. Dass gerade die Drums heftig nachbearbeitet sind, ja nu...?!
Darum geht mal ein Kompliment an Jens Bogren, der u.a. schon KATATONIA, OPETH und AMON ARMARTH individuell und passend gemischt hat.

All das ist aber nur die Hälfte. Die andere Hälfte von GWYLLIONs Vorzügen heißt Annelore Vantomme und ist schlichtweg hinreißend. Schade eigentlich, dass sie die Band nach den Aufnahmen verlassen hat; das hat gut gepasst. Sie ist nicht die erwartete Sopran-Elfe. Vielmehr: nicht nur. Sie hat ein extremes Spektrum drauf, das sich hören lassen kann: Sie muss sich nicht hinter Turunen verstecken (grandios z.B. bei "Roots of Reality"), erinnert gelegentlich an Sharon den Adel und agiert obendrein als kraftvolle Rock-Röhre, im Stil der Damen, die hin und wieder den Background bei EVERGREY übernehmen.

Diese vokale Vielfalt verleiht GWYLLION nicht nur zusätzliche Klasse, sondern auch Glaubwürdigkeit. Als Symphoniker wie als Metaller. Ob die schon gefundene Nachfolgerin, Ann Van Rooy, gegen Annelore ansingen kann, bleibt abzuwarten.

Fazit: eigentlich nicht meine Fachrichtung, kann das Genre bei mir maximal 6 Punkte einfahren. Die Klasse der Band: kompositorisch, instrumental & gesanglich aber zwingt mir die Abnahme der Scheuklappen auf... 8,5 Punkte.

Bewertung: 8,5/10

By : Dirk Bengt (Burn Your Ears - March 2009)

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"The Edge of All I Know" CD
- reviewed by My Revelations

Mit einem grafisch gut gelungenem Cover und einem passend darauf abgestimmten schönen Booklet unterbreitet uns die im Jahre 2003 gegründete belgische Formation GWYLLION mit "The Edge Of All I Know" ein gelungenes und energiegeladenes Symphonic Metal Album.

Mit dem genial durchdringenden Opener "In Silence Enclosed", der auch perfekt in einer passenden Filmszene eingesetzt werden könnte, schiesst auch schon einer der folgenden neun eingängigen, rasenden und melodischen Tracks durch die Boxen. Unterschiedlichste Keyboardlinien ziehen sich durch das Album und geben einen weiteren interessanten Touch. Die Stimme von Frontfrau Annelore Vantomme ist breit gefächert und reicht von den tiefen in die hohen Tonlagen, sie klingt mal hart oder zart, mal zerbrechlich, mal wütend, mal euphorisch, dann wieder deprimiert und melancholisch. Eine Bandbreite die sie wirkungsvoll einzusetzen weiss und die sich auf den Hörer überträgt. Auch wurde das Songwriting nicht hinten angestellt, dem, wie wir wissen, bedauerlicher Weise oft kaum noch Beachtung geschenkt wird. Der Verlauf vieler Songs wird durch ein harmonisches Zusammenspiel von schnellen Rhythmen und sanft gespielten Drums zu einem wahren Erlebnis. Sehr eingängig auch die emotional geladenen Balladen "Beyond Goodbye" oder "Angelheart", die auch wieder sehr schön das Stimmvolumen von Annelore zur Geltung bringen. Um der Abwechslung keinen Abbruch zu tun, finden sich sogar Folkelemente auf der Scheibe, wie z.B. bei "The Night Awakes", die wirklich gut eingebracht wurden. Das stellenweise zweistimmige Zusammenspiel der Gitarren, der Wechsel von durchdringenden schnellen und gedämpften langsamen Parts lassen wie bei "Void" die Ohrhärchen bangen ;-) Gwyllion haben einen sehr eigenständigen Stil geschaffen, der sicher viele Anhänger findet. Klasse!

Bewertung: 13/15

By : Jennifer Laux (My Revelations - April 2009)

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"The Edge of All I Know" CD
- reviewed by Heavyhardes.de

Aus Belgien kommt eine Combo, die inzwischen ihren vierten Silberling veröffentlichen und dabei recht gut aussehen. Gemeint ist Gwyllion mit dem etwas sperrigen Titel The Edge Of All I Know.

Nach einem ausgefeilten, aber doch etwas schwerfälligen Intro zeigt sich das Album mit "Entwined" direkt von seiner besten Seite. Was als "Symphonic Female Fronted Metal" deklariert wird zeigt in dieser spritzigen und sehr groovigen Nummer starke Einflüsse von guten 80s Pop/Rock-Nummern. Der Rhythmus und der wirklich exzellente Gesang der Dame, deren Stimme ein wenig die Mischung aus Bonni Tyler und Laura Mccallan ist, gehen sofort ins Blut. Somit ist gleich der erste Track eine, wenn nicht sogar die stärkste Nummer des Albums. "Void" knüpft direkt daran an, schlägt in eine ähnliche Kerbe und weiß ebenfalls zu begeistern ohne ein bloßer Abklatsch des Openers zu sein. "Rage" hingegen nimmt da schon wesentlich an Tempo auf und wird auch aggressiver. Immer wieder durch einem sehr melodischen Refrain unterbrochen entwickelt sich der Song zu einer runden Sache. "Beyond Goodbye" ist eine sehr eingängige orchestrale Rockballade mit Ohrwurmcharakter. Sehr unter keltischen Einflüssen steht die wieder im Tempo anziehende Nummer "The Night Awakes", die gleich von "Closure" - dem bisher gitarrenlastigsten und härtesten Song - abgelöst wird. "A Thousand Words" und "Roots Of Reality" sind zwei Songs, die einen ähnlichen Charakter wie "Entwined" oder "Void" haben. Lediglich "Angelheart" fällt als Klavier- und Gesangsstück etwas aus dem Rahmen der Scheibe und ist vielleicht als Schlusstrack nicht die beste Wahl. Tragisch und noch im Rahmen des erträglichen Kitschspektrums ist "Angelheart" meiner Meinung nach mit Abstand der schwächste Songs auf der ansonsten hervorragenden Scheibe, auch wenn Freunde des Genres ihn höchstwahrscheinlich sehr schätzen werden.

Bewertung: 6/6 (Tipp!)

By : Alexander de Ahsbahs (Heavyhardes.de - April 2009)

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"The Edge of All I Know" CD
- reviewed by Metal Factory

Das Rätsel ist gelöst! Sprechen Gwyllion in ihren Promoschreiben noch von ihrem Herkunftsland als kleinstes aller Länder, welches vom Weltraum aus kaum zu sehen sei, dafür für sein Chemo-Bier, politische Inkompetenz, Kindesmissbrauch und Schokolade bekannt wäre, so hat ein Blick auf die Homepage ergeben, dass es sich dabei um Belgien handelt. Umso erstaunlicher ist es, dass die melancholische und fast krampfhaft um Mitleid bettelnde Band ein Album abliefert, das sich eigentlich gar nicht verstecken muss. Denn "The Edge Of All I Know" schlägt so ziemlich alles, was in letzter Zeit mit Frauen-Gepiepse auf den Markt gekommen ist. Gwyllion lassen nämlich trotz hoher Frauenstimme die Härte nicht ausser Acht, geben den Instrumenten viel Platz und ziehen kraftvoll in den Battle Of The Bands. Hört euch dazu nur mal den Opener "Entwined" an, der nach einem wahnsinnigen Start in fast progressiver Manier in die Strophen gleitet. Das Einbinden von neuen Elementen scheint zum Konzept des Albums zu gehören, denn jedes Lied bietet wieder Neues zu entdecken. So wird die Sängerin in "Void" im Refrain von einer Männerstimme begleitet, während im hart rockenden und folkigen "The Night Awakes" eine Mandoline durchs Hauptthema führt. Pink Floyd-artige Melancholie gibt’s mit "Beyond Goodbye" zu hören. Anschliessend wird wieder abwechslungsreich und immer mit voller Power gerifft und gemosht. Das Album schafft es, die Spannung bis zum letzten Ton aufrecht zu erhalten und verzichtet sogar auf einen Radio-Pop Metal-Song, ohne dass dies der Band schadet. "The Edge Of All I Know" erhöht die Messlatte für Kompositionen mit hohen Frauenstimmen deutlich und zeigt der Konkurrenz ganz unschuldig, aber spitzbübisch die lange Nase. Diese Aussage von mir zu hören erstaunt umso mehr, wenn man bedenkt, dass ich in der Regel solchen Bands eher kritisch gegenüber stehe. Gwyllion sind definitiv eine Ausnahme der Regel!

Punkte: 9.0 von 10

By : Roger W (Metal Factory - April 2009)

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"The Edge of All I Know" CD
- reviewed by Rock Times

» Einer dieser Kontinente beherbergt das kleinste aller Länder. Es ist vom Weltraum aus nicht sichtbar - das ist es selbst von der Autobahn aus kaum - aber dennoch ist es auf dem Kontinent und sogar dem Planeten wohlbekannt für sein Chemo-Bier, politische Inkompetenz, Kindesmissbrauch und Schokolade.«

Ich wollte das Review einfach mal mit einem kleinen Auszug aus der ziemlich verrückten Bandbio beginnen. Das Land ist Belgien (wahrscheinlich kommt’s Einem von innen kleiner vor), und es hat Gwyllion hervorgebracht, die uns ihr viertes Album, "The Edge Of All I Know", kredenzen. Als Erstes fällt schonmal das schöne Artwork auf, lässt aber auf Grund von Erfahrungswerten auch Skepsis bei mir aufkommen. Egal, ran an den Speck.

Stark geht’s schonmal los, so viel ist sicher. Ein tolles Intro namens "In Silence Enclosed" umschmeichelt die Ohren. Könnte glatt aus einem großen, dramatischen Soundtrack stammen, und hat auch keinen zu hohen Schmalzfaktor. Dann startet alsbald der eigentliche Opener, "Entwined". Sehr schnell wird’s hier, und die Bedenken, die ich nach den ersten paar Sekunden hatte, zerstreuten sich sehr schnell - bei Gwyllion handelt es sich nicht um einen Klon von so vielen anderen Bands im Bereich des Prog-, Power-, Neoklassik-, was-auch-immer-Bereich. Der Song ist variantenreich und hat genug Tiefgang, um auch den skeptischen Hörer bei der Stange zu halten.

Hier sirent sich auch Sängerin Annelore Vantomme sofort ins Rampenlicht. Kraftvoll, emotional, aber nie schmierig - ein Pfund auf Gwyllions Seite, das den Song nochmal nach vorne bringt. Guter Eindruck bis hier!

Und der hält an. Die Band schafft das, was viele versauen: Einen guten Opener zu bestätigen. "Void" jedoch tut genau dies. Das Tempo wird hier ein wenig herausgenommen und die Rhythmen ständig gewechselt, was den leichten Prog-Touch von "The Edge Of All I Know" aufrecht erhält.

Der nächste Song, "Rage", zieht das Tempo dann wieder stark an. ’Jetzt ist es doch soweit’, dachte ich, ’Jetzt geht’s bergab’. Und glücklicherweise war ich wieder zu pessimistisch, hatte ich doch erwartet, dass den Jungs und dem Mädel jetzt die Ideen ausgehen; aber weit gefehlt. Wieder schaffen sie es, diese schöne, wuchtige Dramatik aufzubauen. Und wieder tut Annelores Gesang ihr Übriges dazu.

Und jetzt kommt die obligatorische Halbballade, "Beyond Goodbye". Diesmal bin ich das Risiko eingegangen, mir jede Vorahnung zu verkneifen - und damit gut gefahren. Denn es wird nie zu kitschig, vielmehr werden Emotionen kraftvoll transportiert. Und gerade, wenn man meint, dass sich die Nummer totläuft, zaubern Gwyllion mit unterschiedlichen Mitteln einen kleinen Wechsel aus dem Ärmel, der das Ruder wieder in die richtige Richtung reißt.

Selbst das Althergebrachte kann fesseln, wie darauf in "The Night Awakes". Herrliches akustisches Intro, entsprechend folgender Folk Metal-Teil. An sich nix Neues, aber ich kann der Bande einfacht nichts abschlagen - und es ist auch alles Andere als langweilig.

Zu dem Zeitpunkt hatten mich Gwyllion schon auf ihrer Seite. Aber dann kommt auch noch "Closure" - von einem brettharten Riff eingeleitet, dass mein Metallerherz einen Luftsprung macht. Die Gefahr, dass ein harter Song von weiblichem Gesang entkräftet wird, besteht hier selbstverständlich nicht. Nicht, dass ich das zu diesem Zeitpunkt noch befürchtet hätte! Auch auf den letzten drei Songs lässt sich diese Truppe noch viel Neues einfallen und schließt das Album der bisherigen Leistung würdig ab.

Gwyllion ist keine krampfhaft auf Prog oder Symphonik getrimmte Kapelle - hier geht alles Hand in Hand. Einzelne Elemente, die sich fast nie gegenseitig auf die Füße treten, lockern auf und machen glechzeitig Hunger auf die straffenden Elemente. Diese Band hat genug Eigenes, dass mir das ganze Album nie langweilig wurde. Sehr gute Leistung!

By : Christoph Segebard (Rock Times - April 2009)

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"The Edge of All I Know" CD
- reviewed by Rock Tribune

De West-Vlaamse band Gwyllion timmert al aan de weg sinds 2003. In 2007 brachten ze debuut "Awakening the Dream" uit. Tijd voor het tweede album. Er is vooruitgang geboekt op elk vlak. Ditmaal heeft men een platenfirma (Black Bards) en het album wordt zelfs in Japan uitgebracht. Bovendien nam men de nieuwe nummers op in de befaamde Fascination Street-studio met producer Jens Bogren. Het spreekt vanzelf dat je ons dus niet hoort mopperen over het geluid. Maar dat is nog lang niet alles. Het album is perfect opgebouwd en bevat pakkende songs die lekker in het gehoor liggen. Het begint allemaal met een symfonische intro tot "Entwined" losbarst: puike heavy power metal waartussen zangeres Annelore Vantomme zich wonderwel staande houdt met haar krachtige, volle stem. Ook "Void" spreidt een enorme energie tentoon, maar er is ook een atmosferisch intermezzo en veel aandacht voor toetsen. Achtergrondzang van Martijn en Joris Debonnet zorgt voor de kers op de taart. "Rage" en "Closure" zijn strakke songs die er een duizelingwekkende vaart op nahouden. Eén van de sterkste songs is het strijdvaardige "The Night Awakes" waarin we mandoline horen en warempel een folkachtig timbre ontwaren. Heel opmerkelijk is de ritmiek in "A Thousand Words" - hoed af voor drummer Wouter Debonnet - terwijl een cello hier knappe accenten aanbrengt. Het langste nummer is "Roots of Reality". Acht minuten geeft meer mogelijkheid tot experimenteren en dat doet Annelore door zich hier aan een ontzettend hoge operazang te wagen. We horen liever haar normale stem, maar ze kan het. Na negen symfonische power metalsongs eindigt het album op serene wijze met de breekbaar gezongen pianoballad "Angelheart". Gwyllion komt verrassend sterk uit de hoek op dit tweede album.

83/100

By : Vera Matthijssens (Rock Tribune - April 2009)

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"The Edge of All I Know" CD
- reviewed by Zware Metalen

Soms is het heerlijk om verrast te worden, vooral als de verrassing prettig blijkt te zijn. Toen ik het pakketje promo’s uit m’n brievenbus viste bleek er vooral veel female fronted symphonische metal tussen te zitten en ik hield m’n hart vast. Er is toch altijd die angst voor nóg een Epica, Nightwish of After Forever kloon. Gelukkig valt Gwyllion zeer zeker niet in die categorie!

Het eerste wat mij opviel was het ongelooflijk heldere geluid van deze plaat, wat een sublieme productie! Dat is geen wonder, want de band heeft gebruik gemaakt van de diensten van Jens Bogren. Laatstgenoemde heeft als producer met bands als Opeth, Katatonia en Symphony X gewerkt, bepaald geen kleine namen! Een goede productie is één kant van de medaille, maar ook de songs zelf zijn van hoge kwaliteit. Ieder nummer is een juweeltje op zich en het totaalplaatje is ook wat dit betreft zeer positief.

Dat begint al met de intro van de plaat In Silence Enclosed, dat een sfeer van verwachting oproept. Je voelt dat er een explosie gaat komen. Na enkele minuten ontlaadt het zich met een perfecte overgang in Entwined, een nummer met een zeer grote rol voor de keyboards. De stem van Annelore is geweldig, wat een kracht zit daarachter! En persoonlijk was ik heel blij dat ze niet een ’operastem’ opzet, maar het bij een normaal stemgeluid houdt. Ze laat later op het album wel een stukje klassieke zang horen en dat klinkt ook goed, maar daar blijft het bij. Dit klinkt gewoon als een vrouw met veel power, en zo hoor ik het graag.

Hoogtepunt van de het album is absoluut het nummer Rage, waarin het vakmanschap van alle muzikanten goed te horen is. Geweldige drums, gitaarpartijen en virtuoze solo’s die gepaard gaan met een power die de titel van het nummer eer aan doen. Volgend op deze explosie van geweld komt juist een rustiger nummer Beyond Goodbye, maar hier vermijdt de band gelukkig het cliché van een té trage ballade. Mijn persoonlijke favoriet is The Night Awakes, waarin veel folk-invloeden te horen zijn.

Wat mij betreft is Gwyllion de verrassing van de maand. De band bewijst dat het genre van female fronted metal nog wel vernieuwend kan zijn. Geweldige composities, goede muzikanten en natuurlijk die prachtige productie maken dit album tot een must-have voor de liefhebbers van het genre.

85/100

By : Maaike Brinkhof (Zware Metalen - April 2009)

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"The Edge of All I Know" CD
- reviewed by Obliveon

Gwyllion ist ein belgisches Familienunternehmen, das im Symphonic Metal beheimatet ist und gut zwei Jahre nach dem Debüt "Awakening The Dream" ihr zweites Werk veröffentlicht. Diesmal ist es noch eine Spur bombastischer, kompositorisch anspruchsvoller und detailreicher. Bei "The Edge Of All I Know" kann man mit Fug und Recht behaupten, dass man besonders akribisch zu Werke gegangen ist, denn es ist dem Sextett gelungen, ihre Songs nicht in der Seichtigkeit des weiblichen Gesangs oder der symphonischen Untermalungen zu verwässern, sondern stattdessen mit einer knackigen Gitarrenarbeit und einem voluminösen Klangteppich zu unterlegen, ohne auch hier zu übertreiben. Annelore Vantomme ist zudem eine Sängerin, die mit ihrer Stimme nicht zu dick aufträgt, soll heißen, dass sie mit ihrem kraftvollen Organ den Songs eine stimmliche Tiefe verleiht, ohne ins sirenenhafte abzudriften. So erhält auch ein balladesker Song wie ‘Angelheart‘ eine gewisse Note, denn kitschfrei und ohne dick aufzutragen bildet er den gelungenen Abschluss des Albums. Besonderen Wert hat man auf die Drumarbeit von Wouter Debonnet, einer der drei aus dem oben bereits angeführten Familienunternehmen, gelegt, denn sie wirken wuchtig und allein diese Aufnahmen haben einige Wochen in Anspruch genommen. Neben der gelungenen Einleitung durch das Intro ‘In Silence Enclosed‘, welches nahtlos in den Opener ‘Entwined‘ übergeht und von Beginn an den Bombast und die musikalische Vielfalt in die Gehörgänge bläst, haben es mir insbesondere ‘Rage‘ und ‘Roots Of Reality‘ angetan. Dennoch ist "The Edge Of All I Know" ein durchgehend hörbare Scheibe geworden, die Qualität, Eingängigkeit, Abwechslung und Spannung ineinander vereint.

8/10

By : RB (Obliveon - May 2009)

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"The Edge of All I Know" CD
- reviewed by Ravenheart Music

This is the second album by the Belgian Symphonic metallers, but the first to be professionally produced and released. The epic artwork sets the tone for the music, a mixture of power metal and gothic metal, a Rhapsody, Wishmaster, Epica, WT mash up, with ‘Jennifer Rush’ on vocals. Every song is special, distinctive and very melodic, with superb instrumental passages (no noodling!), and plenty of light and shade, ranging from the thrash of ‘Rage’, to the piano ballad ‘Angelheart’, to the anthemic ‘The Night Awakes’. Songs like ‘Entwined’ and ‘Roots of Reality’ move from heavier to softer passages effortlessly. Lyrics are also excellent, very deep and thought provoking. This CD has really knocked me out, and I highly recommend it to all fans of symphonic metal.

9,5/10

By : Phil Wooldridge (Ravenheart Music - May 2009)

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"The Edge of All I Know" CD
- reviewed by The Pit

Gwyllion aus Belgien sind eine jener Bands, die man gerne mal in eine Schublade steckt. "Ah, eine Band mit einer Frontfrau, die Symphonic Metal spielt... Das kann ja nur ein Nightwish-Klon sein." Nun, so ganz falsch ist diese Annahme nicht, man tut der Band damit aber auch Unrecht, denn sie hat etwas an sich, das sie von der Armada an Plagiaten der finnischen Chartbreaker unterscheidet. Und damit meine ich nicht nur die äußerst unterhaltsame Bandbiographie, die für einige Lacher gut ist. Diese alle wieder zugeben, würde den Rahmen sprengen, aber es ist schön zu sehen, dass die Band über eine gewisse Selbstironie verfügt und sich nicht in den üblichen Gotik-Metaphern verliert. Bevor es also an die Musik geht, muss noch erwähnt werden, dass "The Edge Of All I Know" bereits das letzte Album mit Sängerin Annelore Vantomme ist, da sie Gwyllion aus Zeitgründen verlassen musste. Ihre Nachfolgerin ist in Person von Ann Van Rooy aber bereits gefunden.

"In Silence Enclosed" nennt sich das Intro der Platte und erinnert wohl nicht ganz zufällig an gewisse monumentale Filmsoundtracks. Erfreulicherweise ist das Stück wirklich monumental und nicht kitschig, was immer eine schmale Gratwanderung ist. "Entwined" zeigt dann, welchen Unterschied zu anderen Bands ich vorhin angesprochen hatte - die Gitarren sind die dominante Kraft im Klang von Gwyllion und nicht die Keyboards (die natürlich auch eine wichtige Rolle spielen). Auch das Schlagzeug ist gut zu hören und macht aus "Entwined" einen Song, der sich auch für ein Album von Stratovarius gut eignen würde. Nur singt da natürlich Timo Kotipelto und nicht Frau Vantomme, die sehr variabel zu Werke geht und sowohl in mittlerer Tonlage als auch im Sopran (welches immer geschickt eingesetzt und nicht überstrapaziert wird) vollends überzeugen kann. Wenn sich das Niveau hält, haben wir es hier mit einer kleinen Überraschung zu tun.

"Void" macht auf jeden Fall einen ebenso guten Eindruck. Die Geschwindigkeit wird ein wenig gedrosselt, zieht wieder an und schlägt teilweise in einen völlig anderen Takt um. Das kann man schon als "Progressive Symphonic Metal" bezeichnen. Meine Begeisterung wächst - vor allem, weil mit "Rage" ein weiterer Kracher rausgehauen wird, dessen Anfangsriff sogar ein wenig nach Thrash Metal klingt. So extrem wird es natürlich nicht, denn die Melodien zeigen bald, wohin die Reise geht. Dennoch: Piano und Double-Bass muss man erstmal so geschickt kombinieren können und so einen eingängigen Chorus schüttelt sich auch nicht jeder aus dem Ärmel.

Auf so einem Album erwartet jeder natürlich eine Ballade und die folgt nun. "Beyond Goodbye" ist schon alleine aufgrund des Titels prädestiniert für einen Ruhepol zu sorgen, kann aber leider keine weiteren Akzente setzen. Objektiv betrachtet ist das Lied gut gespielt und schön gesungen, subjektiv gesehen fehlt aber eine wirklich starke Melodie, die "Beyond Goodbye" einen eigenen Charakter geben würde.

Danach steigt die Qualitätskurve wieder nach oben, denn "The Night Awakes" ist einer der besten Songs des Albums und hat einen starken Folk Metal-Einschlag. Das klingt in etwas so, als würden Skyclad und After Forever gemeinsam im Proberaum stehen. An dieser Stelle möchte ich einmal ein großes Lob an die beiden Gitarristen Martijn und Steve aussprechen, die wirklich fantastische Melodien spielen und erstklassig mit Keyboarder Joris harmonieren. So wird nämlich jeder Song noch ein wenig aufgewertet. "Closure" kann beispielsweise kaum überzeugen, hat aber eine gute Hookline, was das Lied noch in den grünen Bereich rettet. Es scheint so, als würden den Belgiern zum Ende hin ein wenig die Ideen ausgehen, denn auch "A Thousand Words" ist "nur" okay, aber immerhin noch meilenweit über dem anzusiedeln, was viele andere Frau-am-Mikro-Bands auf CD pressen lassen. Die würden nämlich für Midtempo-Stücke wie "Roots Of Reality" (geht wieder mal richtig ins Ohr) und die ziemlich kitschige Ballade "Angelheart" töten.

Gwyllion machen vieles richtig und haben mit ihrem zweiten Album ein kleines Ausrufezeichen gesetzt. Jetzt bleibt nur noch zu hoffen, dass die Band auch mit ihrer neuen Sängerin so gut harmoniert und nicht in den Horden von Nightwish- und Within Temptation-Klonen versinkt. Verdient wäre es, denn Bands aus diesem Genre,die dominante Gitarren haben, gibt es nur sehr wenige.

8/10

By : Benjamin Verwold (The Pit - May 2009)

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"The Edge of All I Know" CD
- reviewed by Metal Hammer

Die Belgier um Sängerin Ann Van Rooy machen Nägel mit Köpfen: Für ihr zweites Album THE EDGE OF ALL I KNOW verpflichtete der Sechser keinen Geringeren als Jens Bogren als Produktionsregisseur - den Mann, der bereits Acts wie Opeth, Katatonia, Pain Of Salvation oder Symphony X den Feinschliff verpasste. Das Ergebnis kann sich mehr als hören lassen - und dürfte neben den Anhängern von Nightwish, Epica und Konsorten auch die Traditionsmetaller auf den Plan rufen: Denn Gwyllion präsentieren uns einen leicht symphonisch ausgerichteten Heavy Metal, der sich in Sachen Gitarren-Arrangements und Melodien stark an der New Wave of British Heavy Metal orientiert, darüber hinaus von leicht orchestralen Einsprengseln und voluminösen Keyboard-Teppichen lebt, aber auf affektierte Opern-Gesänge im Wesentlichen verzichtet. So spannt die Band den Bogen zu den US-amerikanischen Symphonic-Metallern Virgin Steele. Als Paradebeispiel für den Sound dürfte die furiose Hymne ‘Rage’ dienen, die alles in sich vereint, was der Kenner der Materie und Purist liebt: prägnante Melodien mit Headbanger-Appeal, klassische Anleihen von Wagner’schem Format, dezentes Gothic-Feeling - eben den perfekten Crossover dieser Spielarten des harten Genres auf hohem Niveau. Da sich auch die restlichen neun Tracks auf diesem Level bewegen, gelegentlich sogar mit ausgefallenen Instrumentierungen verblüffen, bleibt nur ein Urteil: Das Rad wird zwar kompositorisch nicht unbedingt neu erfunden, aber brillant neu verpackt.

Songwriting 5/6 + Sound 5/6 + Hörspaß 6/6 ø = 5,33/6

By : Andreas Schöwe (Metal Hammer - May 2009)

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"The Edge of All I Know" CD
- reviewed by Metal CD Ratings

Gwyllion is a female fronted power metal band from Belgium and ’The edge of all I know’ is their 2nd CD, following their impressive debut ’Awakening the dream’. The band is made up of experienced musicians and many of them have been in other bands from Belgium, including the defunct heavy/true metal band Double Diamond. In addition, there are 6 members total and 3 of them are from the Debonnet family, who have all had their share of experience in the metal world.

’The edge of all I know’ has been a pleasant surprise, as it’s an extremely catchy power metal CD with a tremendous production, plenty of speed, the perfect symphonic presence, well-executed piano/keyboard interplay, and there are even some slightly progressive moments and one song that contains a somewhat folky feel (track 6 "The night awakes"). Basically, the CD has a degree of diversity, while still maintaining a strong power metal base and a nice balance between the other elements. The songwriting is exceptional throughout the entire CD and the band’s talent is very obvious.

For general comparisons, think of Nightwish, Dark Moor, Wildpath and Auspex, but in a way, the band comes off as a blend of Ebony Ark and Dawn of Destiny. Vocally, Annelore Vantomme is similar to Cati Torrealba from Aghonya and Beatriz Albert from Ebony Ark, so she’s not of the soprano (or highly operatic) type. I should mention that Annelore isn’t extremely high-pitched like Tanja Maul of Dawn of Destiny though, either. Regardless of the comparisons, all you need to know is that Annelore has an amazing voice and her performance on this CD is stellar. Seriously, she’s up there with the best of ’em.

The CD starts out with a powerful/orchestral intro "In silence enclosed", which builds things up for a fairly aggressive beginning with track 2 "Entwined" and track 4 "Rage" (track 3 "Void" that separates these songs is strong too). Along with track 7 "Closure" and track 8 "A thousand words", they’re the fastest and catchiest. "A thousand words" is definitely my favorite song, as it’s got a killer hook in the opening moments and the song is seriously magnificent - at the level of Dawn of Destiny’s best songs, which is high praise indeed. I also really like the beautiful piano-oriented slow song "Angelheart", which is the CD’s closer.

In the end, we’ve got a band with a very good debut ’Awakening the dream’ and this excellent 2nd CD ’The edge of all I know’. I can easily recommend both CDs to fans of female fronted power metal, though just so it’s clear, this CD is slightly better than the debut. Oh, and if you’re a fan of any of the mentioned bands, you’ve simply got to get into this band as soon as possible, as just like for me - they’ll be a pleasant surprise.

4/5

By : Clint (Metal CD Ratings - May 2009)

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"The Edge of All I Know" CD
- reviewed by Strutter Zine

Without a doubt, this album caught my by surprise, because the 2nd album of the Belgian band GWYLLION is a very sensational release. OK, have to admit that this ain’t an original release, because the music is typical present day (Dutch) female fronted Melodic Gothic Power Metal orientated, only a few miles away from bands like AFTER FOREVER, EPICA and NIGHTWISH...

Nevertheless, ‘The edge of all I know’ is a lovely album with superstrong melodies, excellent instrumental work and a huge sound, sometimes reaching easily the high level of their similar bands in the genre. Songs like "Entwined", "Void", "Beyond Goodbye" and "Closure" are all wonderful uptempo Melodic Gothic Power Metal pieces that played loud are leaving you quite impressed for sure.

Did not expect it to be this good, but GWYLLION’s new album is definitely a big recommendation to fans of AFTER FOREVER, NIGHTWISH and EPICA. Go check them out at: www.gwyllion.com.

8.8/10

By : Strutter Zine - June 2009

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"The Edge of All I Know" CD
- reviewed by Lords of Metal

Het vermoeden dat er heel wat talent schuilgaat bij onze Zuiderburen wordt door de West-Vlaamse band Gwyllion maar eens te meer bevestigd, want de vanaf 2003 bestaande band levert met ‘The Edge Of All I Know’ een puike tweede plaat af. Het in 2007 verschenen debuut ‘Awakening The Dream’ was al een goede indicatie van het talent van dit atmosferische metal sextet, maar op dit nieuwe album geven ze blijk van een enorme progressie.

Het intro ‘In Silence Enclosed’ leidt ‘Entwined’ in, een nummer dat alle elementen van een goede metal song in zich verenigd: pakkende strakke riffs, lekkere breaks, mooie melodie-lijnen en, het moet worden gezegd, prima zang van Annelore Vantomme (die inmiddels vervangen is door Ann van Rooy). Laatstgenoemde levert overigens over de gehele linie genomen een uitstekende prestatie en ik hoop dat ook maar dat haar opvolgster over eenzelfde power en bereik beschikt, want Annelore is toch wel één van de smaakmakers op ‘The Edge Of All I Know’. Nou ja, we zullen het tijdens de komende optredens als support van Autumn kunnen gaan aanschouwen. De gehele CD is erg sterk, maar als ik dan toch een aantal hoogtepunten zou moeten noemen zijn dat ‘Rage’, ‘Closure’ en het bijna acht minuten durende, gevarieerde ‘Roots Of Reality’. Verder vind ik de piano-ballad ‘Angelheart’, die het album erg rustig afsluit, zeer te genieten, maar ik kan me wel voorstellen dat de echte metalheads dit nummer aan zich voorbij zullen laten gaan. Gwyllion komt op hun tweede CD erg sterk voor de dag en zou in de toekomst zomaar eens kunnen gaan uitgroeien tot één van de vaandeldragers van de Belgische metal scene.

84/100

By : Sjak (Lords of Metal - June 2009)

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"The Edge of All I Know" CD
- reviewed by Dreun.be

Wie er nog aan twijfelt of er Belgische metalbands zijn die met de top kunnen wedijveren: niet doen! Gwyllion maakt het soort symfonische power metal met vrouwenzang (en hier en daar ook mannelijke vocalen) dat ons spontaan doet glimlachen van plezier.

Kortrijk mag volgens een van onze beste vrienden wel in de Duivelsdriehoek van Vlaanderen liggen, de stad mag erg trots zijn op dit Gwyllion, dat op zijn tweede album bewijst dat het veel verder mag kijken dan de eigen landsgrenzen. Die bedenking heeft overigens niet enkel te maken met de tien ij-zer-sterke songs, maar ook met de stevige productie (die in handen was van Jens Bogren, die in het verleden ook bands als Amon Amarth, Symphony X en Opeth een uitstekend geluid bezorgde) en razend knappe artwork van Monument Studio. Vaak kiezen bands en labels voor de goedkoopste oplossing door enkel voor een mooie cover te zorgen of door een illustratie meerdere keren te gebruiken in het cd-boekje, maar elke pagina van ‘The Edge of All I Know’ is van een adembenemende schoonheid die gewoonlijk is voorbehouden voor bekendere bands, fantasyromans of kunsttentoonstellingen.

Dat Gwyllion ook muzikaal indruk maakt, blijkt al vanaf de opener, het 155 seconden lange "In Silence Enclosed". De duur zorgt ervoor dat je nauwelijks over een traditionele intro kunt spreken, terwijl de muzikanten al meteen laten horen dat ze over een gevorderd compositorisch talent beschikken. We zijn er in ieder geval van overtuigd dat Gwyllion ook een uitstekende filmsoundtrack zou kunnen schrijven. Het niveau dat Symphony X haalt op "The Odyssey" wordt natuurlijk niet bereikt, maar het klinkt allemaal wel erg spannend, pakkend en episch, met knipoogjes naar de middeleeuwen.

Op het heftige power metalnummer "Entwined" krijgen we voor het eerst de knappe, krachtige stem van Annelore te horen, die inmiddels wegens de traditionele ‘persoonlijke redenen’ werd vervangen door Ann Van Rooy. Annelore heeft een breed bereik en is technisch begaafd (wat zich ook vertaalde in goede live prestaties), maar verwacht zeker geen operavocalen. Als Ritchie Blackmore ooit scheidt van Candice Night zou hij in haar overigens een gedroomde vervangster kunnen vinden, want Annelore klinkt als een kruising tussen Blackmores muze en Marcela Bovio van Stream of Passion (al schatten we Annelore eigenlijk iets hoger in). Dat ook broertjes Martijn (gitaren) en Joris (keyboards) er sterk op vooruit zijn gegaan als zangers, is te horen op het geweldige, erg memorabele "Void", dat al vanaf de eerste luisterbeurt in het geheugen blijft plakken.

"Rage" is een snel nummer met zanglijnen die klinken alsof Luca Turilli ze heeft geschreven, terwijl ook de solo’s en het drumwerk van hoog niveau zijn. Joris is overigens geen pianist die enkel voor simpele sfeerstukken zorgt: de man kan wel degelijk soleren en dat is altijd een pluspunt in een metalband.

"Beyond Goodbye" kent een uitstekende opbouw, met afwisselend zachte en heavy passages, terwijl op het galopperende "The Night Awakes" zelfs de mandoline wordt bovengehaald, wat zorgt voor een authentieke folktoets. Via het heavy "Closure" (met alweer erg knap klinkend toetsenwerk) gaat het naar de symfonische (power)pracht van "A Thousand Words", dat eerst een ‘Twin Peaks’-achtige sfeer evoceert voor de overstuurde gitaarriffs in de mix worden gegooid. Let ook eens op de kleine details die de band toevoegt: geen enkele song moet het rooien met enkel wat basisriffs en het zijn vaak de accenten die ervoor zorgen dat ‘The Edge of All I Know’ van begin tot eind zo boeiend blijft.

"Roots of Reality" begint met een leadgitaarlijn die doet denken aan Iron Maiden of Hammerfall, waarna de keyboards het even overnemen en Annelore ook laat horen dat ze uitstekend uit de voeten kan als sopraan. Erg mooi, hoor. Er wordt nog geëindigd met de breekbare ballade "Angelheart", waarna we kunnen besluiten dat we naar een erg veelzijdige, goed op dreef zijnde band hebben zitten luisteren. ‘The Edge of All I Know’ zal alvast hoog in onze jaarlijst eindigen. Wie had dat gedacht van een nog niet eens zo lang bestaande vaderlandse metalband?

By : Dirk Vandereyken (Dreun.be - June 2009)

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"The Edge of All I Know" CD
- reviewed by UP Magazine

In 2008 reisde Gwyllion af naar Zweden voor opnames met producer Jens Bogren, bekend van zijn werk voor Amon Amarth en Opeth. De Belgische band ging voor alles of niets en dat heeft zijn vruchten afgeworpen. De female fronted power metal is tot in de puntjes verzorgd. De tien lange nummers zijn krachtig en vervelen geen moment omdat er veel progressieve elementen in de muziek zitten. Zo begint ‘Rage‘ hard met de scheurende gitaren om tot bedaren te komen met schitterende pianoklanken. Vervolgens wordt er weer geknald met strakke gitaarsolo‘s. Het hoge gezang weet op den duur niet echt meer te raken, maar dat is geen punt. ‘The Edge of All I Know‘ is een waar luistergenot.

85/100

By : Bart Slenders (UP Magazine - June 2009)

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"The Edge of All I Know" CD
- reviewed by Blastbeat

Het hoofdkantoor van BlastBeat kent veel voordelen. Ik noem de pittoreske ligging, de uitstekende bedrijfskantine (mocht je er ooit komen: de broodjes brie zijn echt heerlijk) en natuurlijk niet te vergeten de gereserveerde parkeerplaatsen (met naambordjes!) voor iedere medewerker met ‘n vast dienstverband. Toch heeft datzelfde hoofdkantoor 1 groot nadeel en dat heeft betrekking op de nogal forse afmetingen. Er raakt namelijk nog wel eens wat tijdelijk kwijt om vervolgens onder ‘n laag stof vandaan te komen. En precies dat gebeurde ook met de nieuwe cd van het uit Kortrijk afkomstige Gwyllion.

Inderdaad nogal ‘n omslachtige en weinig terzake doende inleiding om ‘n album te bespreken. Beschouw het als mijn manier om excuses te maken voor de late recensie, want The Edge Of All I Know is al begin dit jaar verschenen. Nu was de verleiding erg groot om deze cd gewoon onder het stof te laten liggen, want hun debuut Awakening The Dream (2007) vond ik weinig aan. En dan druk ik mijzelf erg netjes uit. Maar oké, zo’n band doet ‘n hoop moeite en de platenmaatschappij steekt toch ook weer geld in de promotie. Dus om iedereen te vriend te houden toch maar ‘n luisterbeurt gewaagd. Ik zal alvast 1 opmerkelijke uitkomst verklappen: zelden ‘n band gehoord die zó snel zó ontzettend veel progressie heeft geboekt!

Mocht je ze niet kennen: Gwyllion is ‘n zogeheten female fronted symphonic power metal band. Denk aan ‘n After Forever en/of Nightwish. Niet dat ze precies zo klinken (en al zeker niet als Within Temptation), maar dan weet je in welke muzikale hoek je het moet zoeken. Verder is de band gek op Dream Theater en dat begrijp ik wel. Binnen hun vakgebied probeert Gwyllion (tegenwoordig) aardig technisch en afwisselend voor de dag te komen. Wat ook opvalt is dat de helft van de band dezelfde achternaam heeft. Kan kloppen, want deze 3 heren zijn familie van elkaar.

Toch is voor mij het meest opvallende aan deze cd (naast de werkelijk uitstekende productie) dat ‘ie nog ingezongen is door de vorige zangeres. Annelore was jaren geleden al ‘n keer opgestapt en nu opnieuw vlak voor de release van The Edge Of All I Know. Zij is vervangen door Ann en ik heb werkelijk waar geen idee hoe haar stem klinkt. Best bizar: ‘n cd recenseren met daarop ‘n zangeres die niet meer in de band zit. Dat terwijl de zang vaak zo bepalend is bij dit soort muziek.

En (eindelijk) over de muziek gesproken: intro In Silence Enclosed begint wel heel mooi. Werkelijk prachtige filmmuziek. Vrij onverwachts barst dan Entwined los. Veel meer power metal dan ik had verwacht. Lijkt op sommige momenten verdorie wel DragonForce! Er wordt flink afgewisseld met folk, epic en prog. Hierdoor zit het nummer niet te vol. Vreemd, want dat zou je dan eigenlijk juist verwachten. De (ex-)zangeres klinkt erg krachtig als ze -eh- kracht zet. De hoogte in met haar stem vind ik het net niet als ze dat doet. (Dat is dus ‘n persoonlijke mening). Maar wat ‘n avontuur zeg dit nummer!

Na zo’n opener moet Void haast wel tegenvallen. Maar doet dat niet. Alhoewel, voor mij is het te zoetsappig uitgevoerd (let op: opnieuw ‘n persoonlijke mening). Toch is er weinig mis mee, dat moet ik gewoon toegeven. Wederom is er genoeg afwisseling, onder andere in de vorm van ‘n piano. En erg leuk gedaan die brommende bas richting het einde. Rage is beduidend ruiger en sneller, hoewel dat binnen dit genre natuurlijk betrekkelijke termen zijn. Opnieuw rustieke intermezzo’s en opnieuw vermaak ik me prima tijdens deze track.

Tijdens het wonderschone begin van Beyond Goodbye hoor je goed dat Annelore -gewoon- ‘n meer dan prima rockzangeres is in plaats van ‘n klassiek geschoolde frontvrouw. En hoewel de stemmen absoluut niet op elkaar lijken had dit nummer zo ‘n balladachtige Top 40-notering van Evanescence kunnen zijn. Dat zegt wel iets over de kwaliteit. Of over de smaak van het Top 40-publiek, haha! Nee serieus, dit is het betere kippenvel (mocht je daar gradaties in hebben). Dan komt The Night Awakes en kan ik nog maar aan 1 ding denken: -Three sons have I and they ride by my side.- Inderdaad, Blood Of My Enemies van Manowar! (Is ook alweer van 25 jaar geleden!). Maar dan vrolijk uitgevoerd; voor bij het kampvuur. Wederom ernstig goed gedaan.

Closure begint weer ‘n stuk harder. Doet me aan After Forever (met meer keyboards) denken. Lijkt mij geen schande om mee vergeleken te worden. En zo zal Gwyllion dat vast niet opvatten, want die band noemen ze zelf ook als 1 van hun vele inspiratiebronnen. Trouwens wel ‘n abrupt einde van deze song. Benadrukt de hardheid. Verder dan met A Thousand Words. Grappig dat de bassdrum de gitaarriffs volgt. Op zich niet heel origineel. Tenminste, bij extreme muziek. Wel heel apart bij ‘n niet ontzettend ruig nummer. Krijgt daardoor weer iets aparts.

Dat is ook ‘n beetje in het kort het verhaal van deze cd. Gwyllion heeft het genre zeker niet uitgevonden, maar voert het wel bijzonder goed uit. Knap hoe ze net ‘n eigen draai aan de nummers geven, terwijl je toch vaak genoeg ‘n andere bandnaam te binnen schiet. Mede door de prima muzikanten voegt Gwyllion daadwerkelijk iets toe. Maar laat ik niet op de eindconclusie vooruitlopen, want er zijn nog 2 nummers te gaan. Eh, dat had er beter 1 kunnen zijn!

Want Roots Of Reality doet me best wel aan de -oude- Gwyllion denken; aan de vorige cd. Ai. Het begint al met ‘n behoorlijk kinderachtig deuntje. De zangeres probeert weer hoger te gaan, maar nog steeds vind ik dat klassiekachtige niet bij haar passen. Maar die keyboards zijn nog veel irritanter. (De oplettende lezer kan hier weer ‘n persoonlijke mening waarnemen. Wel op blijven letten, hè). Het nummer is te simpel vergeleken bij wat de band al ‘n hele cd laat horen. Eerlijkheidshalve moet ik wel bekennen dat het 2e gedeelte van Roots Of Reality stukken beter is. Eindigt zelfs mooi. Over mooi gesproken: wacht maar tot je Angelheart hoort. Akoestische afsluiter voor bij het eerdergenoemde kampvuur. (Alhoewel, is wel zo’n gesleep met die piano). Indrukwekkend einde van ‘n indrukwekkende cd.

En zo kan het gebeuren dat ik opnieuw niet anders kan dan ‘n absurd hoge eindscore geven. Ik blijf mezelf voorhouden dat ik eigenlijk helemaal niet zo dol op dit genre ben, want: niet ruig genoeg, te zweverig, ik ben geen wijf, te gemaakt, te geforceerd, ik woon niet in de Efteling, het lijkt allemaal op elkaar, te theatraal en te aanstellerig. Maar misschien zit ik gewoon nog in de ontkennende fase. Tegelijkertijd heb ik last van hoogmoedswaanzin, want ik durf te beweren dat ik goede muziek kan herkennen als ik het hoor. Ook als het niet helemaal m’n smaak is. En ik kan niet anders dan toegeven dat The Edge Of All I Know ‘n ernstig goede cd is geworden, waar weinig op aan te merken is. België kan, mag en moet trots zijn op Gwyllion!

P.S. Gwyllion live: a.s. zaterdag 22 augustus in JC Den Ast te Heule (West-Vlaanderen), samen met Locus Control en ‘t Verzet.

90/100

By : Casper (Blastbeat - August 2009)

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"The Edge of All I Know" CD
- reviewed by Rocking Boy

Im ersten Moment kann die Label Info Symphonic Female Fronted Metal schon abschrecken. Erwartet man doch einen weiteren Nightwish oder Within Temptation Klon. Das überlange Intro steigert die Spannung bis mit "Entwined" der erste Song loslegt. Und wie der abgeht. Schnelles Riffing und DoubleBass bestimmen die Szene. Dann die nächste Überraschung in Form von Sängerin Annelore Vantomme. Wer mit dünnem Sopran gerechnet hat kriegt hier gleich mal einen vor den Latz geknallt. Die Gute hat ein volles, kräftiges Organ mit einem breiten Spektrum. Diese stimmliche Bandbreite kommt in allen Songs voll zum tragen und unterscheidet die Band gleich mal von allen ähnlich gelagerten Bands. Der nächste grosse Unterschied zu Nightwish und Co. liegt im Songwriting. Man merkt einfach dass die Songs für Gitarre und Gesang geschrieben wurden und nicht auf pompösen Kitsch ausgelegt sind. Symphonische Elemente sind nur in Form von dezenten Keyboards oder Klavierparts zu vernehmen. Vereinzelt werden auch Violinen oder Flöten eingesetzt. Aber eben immer nur dezent. Dafür braten die Gitarren um so mehr. Hartes Riffing, grandiose Hooklines und klare Solos ohne Ende. Egal ob bei dem schnellen Kracher "Rage", dem mit Folkzitaten durchsetzten Ohrwurm "The Night Awakes" oder dem überragendem "A Thousand Words". Mit "Beyond Goodbye" gibt es eine Power Ballade die den Namen wirklich mal verdient und das fast 8 Minuten Epos "Roots Of Reality" ist eine Achterbahnfahrt vom feinsten. Was Annelore in diesen Zeitraum aus Ihrer Stimme holt ist schier unglaublich. Einzig die das Album abschliessende Piano Ballade "Angelheart" wirkt ein bisschen deplaziert. An einer anderen Stelle der Scheibe wäre der Track besser aufgehoben. Bei diesem Album stimmt alles! Eine klare und kräftige Produktion von Jens Bogren (u.a. Opeth und Pain Of Salvation), ein passendes und stimmiges Cover und Booklet, grandiose Songs voll Power und die göttliche Stimme von Annelore machen diese Scheibe zur Pflicht für jeden Power Metal-, Progressive- und Symphonic Metal Fan. Kaufen!!!

9,5/10

By : Steve (Rocking Boy - September 2009)

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"The Edge of All I Know" CD
- reviewed by Sea of Tranquility

From the tiny nation of Belgium comes one very large progressive metal band. Armed with a new lead singer for this their second release, Gwyllion is poised to crush the competition in the world of symphonic metal. Few bands are capable of just wowing me upon the first listen but this is a group that not only captures the essence of all that is metal, they do so in such an overwhelming way that you will be left breathless by the end of the disc.

It is clear that this band has some real musical background. There is no way that the sense of musicianship comes by accident. With a blend of the classical world and the land of metal, this is one of those musical moments that will completely enthrall the listener.

First off, let‘s start with lead singer Annelore Vantomme. If there is a weak spot with this band, this is not it! From gritty rocker vocals to soaring operatic arias, Annelore brings a magical voice that takes the band to heights that only a singer of this caliber can reach. She mesmerizes with a vocal style that oozes metal but also draws from so many different influences that her singing could become one of the irresistible forces in the music industry. She is that good.

Next you have a pair of guitarist that create such a bombastic and dynamic backdrop that for at least a little while you can get lost in a world of symphonic metal that takes you back to the days of maidens and castles while at the same time keeps a foot firmly planted in today‘s metal universe. Hats off to Martijn Debonnet and Steve Deleu, they deliver a robust and powerful musical treat to the metalheads ears!

Then you have the secret weapon of the band. Well, he is not really all that secret but keyboardist Joris Debonnet is to Gwyllion what Rick Wakeman is to Yes. There is a regal sense to the music of the band and it can be traced directly to this guy!

Lastly, you have a rhythm section that is amazing. Drummer Wouter Debonnet and bassist Thomas Halsberghe are a rock solid foundation to build this house of metal magic. Will all the variations that the band has to offer, these two do not let them get off track.

As a band it is tough to be able to broach the worlds that Gwyllion dare to enter. They manage to do with such ease that you will wonder why they are not a household name now. The music sounds as if they might have agonized over each and every single note laid down. It is as close to perfection as you will find. Just listen to any song on here such as "A Thousand Words" where the majestic keyboards start off but give way to the staccato guitar that suddenly soars off before returning to its steady rhythm and becoming the background to Annelore‘s terrific vocals. Or the dynamics of drummer Wouter who‘s cadence is what pulls it all together. Then the brilliant fills by keyboardist Joris are the calming influence amidst the storm. All together they provide a package than is so far superior to 99% of what is out there that the gap seems to increase with every listen to the disc. Sure you can hear influences of other bands such as Nightwish or Lunatica but this band puts a whole new spin on what those that have come before has done.

Each song brings its own form of dynamics to the overall package. The operatic vocals on "Roots of Reality" will take you by surprise the first time through the disc but will be something you look forward too with each play.

Album closer "Angelheart" is a stunning piece of music. A beautiful work with just piano and the voice of Annelore penetrating your senses, it is the perfect cool down after the workout that the rest of the album gives you.

My personal favorite, at the moment, is the song "Void". With a guitar intro that brings to mind the power of bands like Iron Maiden. This is a pure rocker that is also the one song where Martijn gets a chance to lend some lead vocals when he trades lines with Ann. It also has a most interesting keyboard interlude that although short is dynamite.

I could go on and on about this band but the simplest way to find out about them is to go and get this disc! It is a stunner and one that took me totally by surprise. At least you have been forewarned that this album is habit forming!!

5/5

By : Scott Ward (Sea of Tranquility - October 2009)

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"Awakening the Dream" CD
- reviewed by MindView

Gwyllion is een nieuwe Belgische band met een zangeres en met muziek die haar wortels heeft in het gothic gebeuren. Een genre dus waarvan de markt overspoeld wordt en waarin Scandinavië en Nederland het voortouw nemen. Om te beginnen heeft Gwyllion met Annelore Vantomme een schitterende zangeres. Voeg daar geïnspireerde nummers aan toe die in rijke en vindingrijke arrangementen zijn gehuld en ook nog goed worden uitgevoerd en je hebt een band die onmiddelijk meetelt. Dit is pure klasse, deze groep moet worden opgepikt!

GOUD (6/7)

By : GR (MindView - May 2007)

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"Awakening the Dream" CD
- reviewed by De-lunatic-raven.nnm.ru

OK, the first great thing about band / album, is that vocal duties are carried by female, and I like Metal with female vocals very much. Even more - vocals is not good or OK (I could live with that), but simply fantastic and sound like Keith Fay (Cruachan) with some additions of Elisa C. Mart?n (ex-Dark Moore) and Michela D’Orlando (Power Symphony). Also musically I could compare Gwyllion with two last mentioned bands - great Symphonic Power Metal, nothing original, but how many original Symphonic Power could be named? I personally don’t care much about originality if songs are good, and they are. The best tracks could be 01. Trinity, 04. Forever Me and 06. Running Together.

On downside we have sound and production that is not as good and fat as we are used to by bands like After Forever, Dark Moore etc., but this is DEMO (or self produced album), therefore some sound problems with drums and guitars are understandable. The same could be said about backing vocals - sometimes they fit, sometimes suck. But for self produced album sound is very good.

If some serious label will take care about them, Gwyllion could become one of the best Belgian female fronted bands together with Sengir.

9/10

By : Blade of Darkne (De-lunatic-raven.nnm.ru - April 2007)

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"Awakening the Dream" CD
- reviewed by Deathmetal.be

For what I know, Belgium ain’t really known for its female-fronted Metal bands. It’s thus almost a pleasure to discover a high quality band, with a girl who actually can sing without sounding ridiculous or (too) pompous. Gwyllion were formed in 2003 by three brothers and "Awakening The Dream" is their second release that marks the return of their original singer Annelore Vantomme. The 8 tracks on offer differ from the traditional Goth/Dark Metal, having a strong power metal feel. I’ve learned recently that I wasn’t always able to notice when a singer is out of tune (unless it’s a nightmare), but I’m almost convinced it’s never the case here and, believe me, that girl always gives 200%!

The 8 tracks on offer differ from the traditional Goth/Dark Metal stuff, having a strong power metal feel, with fast tracks as well as more personal tunes with a slower pace and progressive elements (keyboards). Sure, we’re not dealing with the prodigy of french phenomenon Asphodel (Esthete Piggie, Penumbra,...), but this singer is amazing and the musical level is decent enough to raise label interest!

84/100

By : Steph PTC (Deathmetal.be - May 2007)

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"Awakening the Dream" CD
- reviewed by Rock Tribune

Gwyllion is een band uit Kortrijk die met "Awakening the Dream" een demo uitbrengt. Op zich is er zeker nog ruimte voor progressie maar de band slaat alvast geen slecht figuur en beschikt over goede ideeën. Zangeres Annelore Vantomme maakt een prima indruk en bezit een stem die prima bij de melodieuze en vrij symfonisch klinkende metal past. Opener "Trinity" roept in het begin wat vergelijkingen op met Nightwish en heeft in het refrein ook wel een zeker folkkarakter. Absolute prijsbeesten zijn "Once Upon a Lifetime" dat door vrolijke keyboards wordt opgesmukt en het grappige "Running Together" dat in het midden zelfs een polkastukje heeft. "Awakening the Dream" is een demo die mag gehoord worden en waarbij ik zelfs vermoed dat de band live nog meer weet te imponeren. Neem eens een kijkje op de website van de band, www.gwyllion.com, waar je de demo en andere zaken kan bestellen.

By : Steven Willems (Rock Tribune - May 2007)

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"Awakening the Dream" CD
- reviewed by Metalfan.nl

Een Gwyllion is een mythisch, elfachtig figuur uit Wales. Indien het creatuur binnen wordt gelaten en met liefde wordt behandeld, zal het niks uitrichten. Zo niet, dan zal het toeslaan. Een andere hobby van een Gwyllion is het afschrikken en lastigvallen van reizigers, maar als je een mes bij je hebt hoef je niks te vrezen. Wijs het steekwapen in de richting van het wezen en het maakt zich rap uit de voeten.

Tot zover de mythologieles van vandaag, nu verder met muziek. Het Kortrijkse Gwyllion heeft namelijk net hun debuut Awakening The Dream uitgebracht. Op Awakening The Dream keert zangeres Annelore Vantomme terug op het oude nest en dat is bepaald geen slechte ontwikkeling voor de band.

Op Awakening The Dream doet Gwyllion denken aan het vroegere werk van Autumn. Solide basisriffs, heldere vrouwenzang, meeslepende pianoklanken en zo nu en dan een heerlijke gitaarsolo. Op Once Upon A Lifetime is ook mannenzang terug te horen, maar verwacht geen grunts of screams, want die zal je op deze cd niet aantreffen.

De pluspunten van het gebodene zijn de krachtige vocalen van Vantomme, het avontuurlijke karakter van de nummers en het toetsenwerk van Joris Debonnet, dat voor veel sfeer zorgt. Het enige minpunt dat hier tegenover staat is de productie, die wat mij betreft wel wat helderder had gemogen. Verder is Awakening The Dream gewoon een hele puike debuut-cd.

Tracklist:
1. Trinity
2. Strings Of Fate
3. Curse Of The Wise
4. Forever Me (You Are)
5. Once Upon A Lifetime
6. Running Together
7. Lost In A Dream
8. Helpless

Score: 81 / 100

By : Edo (Metalfan.nl - May 2007)

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"Awakening the Dream" CD
- reviewed by Truemetal.it

Il Belgio non è mai stato famoso per la sua tradizione metal. Ed è sempre un piacere scoprire che da tale inesperienza ne esce fuori una band con delle potenzialità davvero grosse. I Gwyllion sono una realtà che nasce poco più di tre anni fa dalla volontà di tre fratelli, Martijn, Wouter e Joris Debonnet, che reclutano come cantante Annelore Vantomme (ex-Sphinx) e il bassista Thomas Halsberghe. Questi giovanotti riescono a creare in poco tempo una set-list di indubbio gradimento in terra belga, e i fan, che si facevano sempre più numerosi, forzano la band a produrre il loro primo demo. Ma ancor prima di registrarlo, Annelore abbandona per cause di forza maggiore, e i musicisti rimasti sono costretti ad affrontare già la prima difficoltà della loro carriera. Per la registrazione del demo viene arruolata la veterana Valerie Vanhoutte, e nell’agosto del 2004 viene rilasciato "Forever Denying The Never", con grandi encomi da parte della critica. Dopo altre varie vicissitudini, il rapporto con Valerie viene troncato, e Annelore riprende il posto che gli era sempre spettato, portando con sé Steve Deleu, ex-Sphinx anche lui. Le registrazioni di "Awakening the Dream" vengono effettuate a cavallo tra il 2006 e il 2007, e dopo qualche mese, arriva finalmente la loro prima realease ufficiale, sotto l’etichetta SAD, anche se per la produzione i Gwyllion decidono di affidarsi alla esperienza di Martijn e Wouter.

Il sound della band è di chiara matrice Power, anche se moltissime sono le contaminazioni da altri generi, come il Gothic, accentuato da un uso ben marcato delle tastiere, e il Prog, dai riffs e ritmiche di Martijn e Steve elaborati e complessi. Spesso quando al recensore viene sottoposto un disco con voce femminile e sonorità power-gothic, viene spontaneo fare un paragone coi blasonati Nightwish. Ebbene, sebbene la voce di Annelore abbia dei rimandi alla ex Tarja, e anche alla nostra compaesana Cristina Scabbia, risulta in alcuni momenti anche superiore alle suddette per spigliatezza e impeto, a discapito di una pomposa teatralità. Forse gli esempi più calzanti sono Keith Fay dei Cruachan, Elisa Martin (ex-Dark Moore) e Michela D’Orlando dei Power Symphony. Tornando al discorso sul sound, i gruppi sopra citati possono essere una buona linea guida per intendere le sonorità che i Gwyllion vi offrono, anche se insisto a sottolineare il loro sforzo per dare un tocco maggiormente personale sia in chiave Power che (soprattutto) in chiave Prog.

TRACK BY TRACK
Il platter si apre con un riff di tastiere molto potente, subito incalzato dalle chitarre e dalla voce impetuosa di Annelore: "Trinity". Meravigliosamente incalzante è il chorus, che viene ripetuto alternato a bridge acustici e parti strumentali molto evocative. La seconda traccia, "Strings of Fate", parte con un riff Prog degno dei migliori Dream Theater, che sfocia nel furioso pattern in doppia cassa di Wouter. Il brano prosegue poi su ritmi molto alti, sostenuti ancora stavolta dalla imperiosa voce di Annelore. Ancora una volta, chorus riuscitissimo. "Curse of the Wise" è il terzo capitolo del platter; è la canzone più atmosferica e Prog del dischetto, che fa dell’ossessivo riff centrale e del cantato a due voci (Martijn è il corista) il suo punto di forza. "Forever me" è la canzone di Annelore, che la esegue con una profondità e con una partecipazione paragonabile a Geoff Tate in Operation: Mindcrime. Stupendi l’intermezzo centrale di pianoforte. A seguire abbiamo "Once upon a lifetime", traccia a dirla tutta un po’ stantia, con dei riff ben congegnati ma troppo ossessivamente ripetuti. "Running toghether", e altro brano molto Prog-oriented. Indovinatissimi gli intermezzi di minuetto tra le parti della canzone. E altrettanto riuscita la parte cupa centrale. Un flauto di Pan introduce la successiva "Lost in a dream", dove ancora una volta la voce di Annelore si manifesta in tutta la sua potenza. Sono costretto a ripetermi, ma il break centrale risulta ancora una volta riuscitissimo. Tocca infine ad "Helpless" chiudere l’avventura di questo album. E come degna chiusura, è un brano al cui interno ritroviamo tutte le particolarità del songwriting di questa band; mid-tempo evocativi, parti strumentali oscure, sfuriate di doppia cassa e, ovviamente, voce eccezionalmente impetuosa.

SOUNDS GOOD?
Voce - Il vero punto di forza della band. Come dicevo in apertura di recensione, Annelore si affida ad un cantato che esula dalla magnificenza e dalla teatralità di buona parte delle sue colleghe. Il suo stile è pulito, semplice e diretto, che si adagia facilmente su tonalità medie dolci ed acuti precisi e potenti.
Piccola nota anche per il corista, Martijn, il quale si riesce a destreggiare bene nel ruolo di controvoce di Annelore, prediligendo tonalità medio-basse.

Chitarre - Purtroppo (come dirò più avanti) la produzione non riesce a "far uscire" la potenza dei buoni riffs di Martijn e Steve, i quali comunque svolgono il loro compito con dovizia e precisione.

Basso - Ehm... Dov’è il basso in questo disco? Si sente poco, e anche se una parte della colpa è da imputare alla produzione, l’altra parte è da ascrivere alla poca incisività e inventiva di Thomas. Rimandato alla prossima.

Tastiere - In questo stile le tastiere dovrebbero farla da padrone. E in effetti Joris compie una prestazione sugli scudi, offrendo ottime partiture, precisi accompagnamenti e assoli intriganti.

Percussioni - Buon lavoro di Wouter. Preciso e semplice, forse anche un po’ troppo. Si destreggia bene sia sulle parti più propriamente percussionistiche che sulle sfuriate in doppia cassa.

Produzione - Nota dolens... La scelta di fare "in casa" può essere redditizia a volte, ma avendo una band del genere alle spalle, bisognerebbe evitare queste decisioni personalistiche e affidare la consolle alle mani sapienti di un sound engineer quotato. Non che i suoni siano impastati, sia chiaro, ma le distorsioni sono poco compresse, la batteria non è resa al massimo, e a volte anche i riverberi delle voci non sono propriamente consoni. Un lavoro di certo discreto, comunque, ma con queste potenzialità ci vorrebbe ben altro...
Il giudizio finale, e il voto di conseguenza, è positivo, e i punti che separano questo disco dalle massime altezze sono da addebitare alla resa sonora troppo semi-professionale e alla immaturità del songwriting, che è sì personale, ma ancora troppo acerbo.
Credo che questi belga riuscirano davvero a sfondare nel mercato del metal continentale, dato che la loro offerta risulta alquanto fresca e innovativa. Fidatevi, sentirete ancora parlare dei Gwyllion.

Tracklist:
1. Trinity (5:09) * online *
2. Strings of Fate (4:48)
3. Curse of the Wise (4:50)
4. Forever Me (5:02)
5. Once upon a Lifetime (5:07) * online *
6. Running Together (5:27)
7. Lost in a Dream (6:49) * online *
8. Helpless (7:21)

Score: 84 / 100

By : NikeBoyZ (Truemetal.it - June 2007)

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"Awakening the Dream" CD
- reviewed by Ashladan

Gwyllion, Een band van eigen bodem (Belgie). Een band die pas vier jaar bestaat. En met de terug keer van Annelore Vantomme (ex-Sphinx) en met de komst van 2e gitarist Steve Deleu (ex-Sphinx). Deze cd werd opgenomen in 2006 en ligt al sinds maart in de winkel. Helaas een late review maar ondanks de omstandigheden qua exames en school werkzaamheden moesten Ashladan even ruimte maken voor mij toekomst.

Maar nu even over de cd. Awaking the dream is dus al een poosje te koop, maar het geluid zal er niet door veranderd zijn.

Het eerste nummer genaamd Trinity, begint met een evil keyboard deuntje waarvan ik denk dat hij zo door Dimmu Borgir had kunnen geschreven worden. En als de gitaar in valt... Meesterlijke riffs overheersen dit nummer, en het staat als een steen. Dat in combinatie met het uitstekende keyboard werk en de heerlijke stem van Annelore.. Een overal pracht plaatje.. Hier een daar valt er volgens mij een soort acoustische gitaar. Dit komt er trendy en een beetje folk over. Dit is op zich een leuke presentatie.. Ook erg knap is de tweede mannelijke stem die erg goed invloeit en het laatste puzzelstuk die erin past. Daarnaast zijn er genoeg stukken waar de keyboard een heel knap staaltje werk levert. Een tempo wisseling van hier tot tokio. Af een toe een rustig stukje gitaar en keyboard werk met een midtempo reffrein..

Op nummer 4 Forever Me, begint met een piano dat op zich best verlichtend is. Ook laat Annelore op dit intro de nog wat hogere noten klinken, maar ook zingt ze diep. Dit alles verlegt het contrast van het nummer. Daarna is er een erg lichte solo van de keyboard, die ondersteunt wordt door een heavy gitaar met flinke overdrive. Ook hierna volgen de meesterlijke riffs, uit de handen van Martijn. Ook dit nummer zit goed vol met tempowisselingen. Dat is erg mooi want het laat de zang van Annelore er goed uitkomen. Ook de intro riff van de keyboard is het hele nummer goed onderbouwt. Je hoort de riff constant terug komen en dat is wel weer in orde met de structuur van het hele nummer. Hier is dan ook goed over na gedacht..

Om nou niet de hele cd voor te kauwen zal ik even een overal idee van de cd geven.
Het is een cd met veel contrast vrouwlijke zang, donkere riffs, heldere solo’s en een duistere tweede zang. Goede afwisseling qua tempo’s, een indrukkewende gitaarspel (die af en toe voor een leuke solo zorgt). Met voor de zoveelste keer meesterlijke riffs waaraan je kan zien dit een band is met structuur. De genre van de cd licht richting gothic metal. Maar daar komen enkele, maar duidelijke invloeden in voor als Heavy Metal en af en toe bespeur je ook Folk Metal. En naast alles heeft de band ook humor als je kijkt naar intro nummer 6 en nummer 2, maar ze zijn bloedserieus. Dit alles leid tot een geheel en mooi eindproduct. Dit is een band die goed nadenkt voor dat ze handelen. Ik zal ze dus ook aan de tand voelen over het proces van schrijven.

Deze cd krijgt een dikke 8.3/10

Score: 8.3 / 10

By : Sir Isembold (Ashladan - June 2007)

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"Awakening the Dream" CD
- reviewed by Digital Steel

Gwyllion was formed in the fall of 2003 by the brothers Martijn (guitars), Wouter (drums) and Joris (keyboards) Debonnet. After a search for members and some changes they completed their line-up in 2006. In the year 2004 they’ve released their first album, and after that there were some line-up changes. Also in 2006 they’ve recorded their second album Awakening the Dream. With this album they hope to get a record deal.

Trinity kicks off, immediately this Belgium symphonical metal band reaches quite a high level and also singer Annelore is giving away some fantastic vocal lines. In the line of the first song the following songs also are very good. Forever Me is a very melodic one and Once Upon a Lifetime is a lot heavier. A howling wolf can be heard in the intro and this song absolutely is one of the highlights of the album. Something I can’t find on the album is a ballad, not that it is necessary but it mostly acts like a resting point of the album. With Helpless the end is near. This song also is one of the highlights of the album, a soft drumdriven intro leads the song and it evolves into a great metalsong.

Gwyllion is one of the few Belgium female fronted metalbands. Awakening the Dream is a very good album and they definitely have a good chance to get a record label with it. This album also is a must for the fans of symphonical metal!

Score: 85 / 100

By : After_eden (Digital Steel - June 2007)

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"Awakening the Dream" CD
- reviewed by BMU

He took a while to kill, but Arry is dead at last. So, fling your Sphinx-CD’s high into the air and hope they never return to the planet’s surface. Vantomme and Deleu have found some new kids to play with ...

There’s really only one way to say this: this CD is very close to being perfect! Great compositions, great musicians, great female voice and a great sound. I can listen to it again and again without getting bored with it (for now).
The first song ('Trinity') must be more or less biographical, because ’The Holy Trinity’ is exactly how I would describe the Debonnet-brothers. When it comes to talent and musical skills, these guys are top of the bill. It must be quite an experience and an honour to be in a band with these three geniuses. You know what they say: "some mothers do have ’em" ...

The music is very Nightwish-like, but (luckily) Annelore doesn’t sound like Tarja Turunen at all. She has a powerful voice, rather in the vein of Shakira or even a Christina Aguilera on a monday morning. Former singer, Valerie, could bring tears to my eyes with "Curse of the Wise". Annelore doesn’t possess these powers, but overall she’s a much better and more experienced singer than Valerie.

I’m not too crazy about the guitar sound though. It sounds a bit too synthetic for my taste. It reminds me of Michael Jackson’s ’Dirty Diana’. But this is really the only little downside I can discover. Great CD! Very well done ...

By : Filip Lasseel (BMU - June 2007)

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"Awakening the Dream" CD
- reviewed by Metaluniverse.net

Gwyllion est un jeune groupe belge qui a été formé en 2003 par les trois frères Debonnet (Martijn, Joris et Wouter). Provenant d’une famille aux racines musicales, chacun d’eux avait déjà joué dans quelques groupes ainsi que divers projets.

L’idée de former leur propre groupe est devenu réalité quand se joignit à eux, la chanteuse Annelore Vantomme, le bassiste Thomas Halsberghe ainsi que le guitariste Steve Deleu.

"Awakening The Dream" a été enregistré en 2006; cet album contient toutes les pièces de la démo "Forever Denying The Never" enregistrée en 2004, en plus de trois nouvelles compositions. Dès son ouverture, "Trinity" nous mets dans l’ambiance musicale de Gwyllion; un metal symphonique accrocheur agrémenté de temps à autres d’une teinte power metal. Tout au long de cet album, la voix enchanteresse de Annelore impressionne grâce à ses nombreuses lignes de chants. Au niveau musical, il me serait difficile de commenter certaines lacunes car la qualité de composition et d’interprétation est d’une grande maturité.

La pièce "Curse of the Wise" en est d’ailleurs la preuve. "Awakening The Dream" contient beaucoup de choirs ainsi que certaines partitions plus progressives comme par exemple sur la pièce "Once Upon a Lifetime". Sur la pièce "Running Together", Gwyllion y est allé avec quelques fantaisies musicales qui n’enlève rien à l’intensité et la diversité désirée. L’introduction de "Lost in a Dream" est interprétée par la flûte de Wouter dont l’enchaînement musicale donne comme résultat une interprétation de haut niveau. Au risque de me répéter, la voix d’Annelore Vantomme est des plus impressionnantes. La conclusion de l’album se nomme "Helpless". Son introduction est d’une grande richesse musicale, de part son rythme mi-tempo ainsi que sa suite qui démontre encore le savoir-faire de Gwyllion.

La publication de "Awakening The Dream" avec un label d’importance ouvrira sans aucun doute la voix du succès à Gwyllion. Nombreuses sont les forces de cet album et s’il y a un reproche que l’on peut dénoter, les vocaux masculins qui accompagnent parfois Annelore devraient plutôt lui laisser toute la scène à elle seule. Voilà donc un album fortement recommandé.

9/10

By : Paolo Ouellet (October 2007)

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"Awakening the Dream" CD
- reviewed by Sonic Cathedral

Listening to the first song on this demo CD by Gwyllion, I thought I would bump into yet another gothic metal band, only this time with a bit more power maybe. I must admit, that I was absolutely wrong.

The second song "Strings Of Fate" sounds so much different (read: better) than opener "Trinity" and it felt like lightning struck me. The opening riffs and progressive speed changes easily caught my attention and fullfilled me with great excitement. And it is there, when you start to listen to their music with different eyes.

"Curse Of The Wise" has a sphereful opening and contains a powerful riff. "Forever Me (You Are)" is a ballad-type of song, starting with the sound of piano strings. "Once Upon A Lifetime" is the perfect turnover to power and craziness at headbanging speed. What an immense adrenaline kick! Their powerful songs are the absolute proof, that Gwyllion sounds very different than all the average bands you hear in general. And if you’re not convinced yet, just listen to the total musical madness that the band spreads in a song called "Running Together". Just perfect! It’s simply impossible to compare them to other bands. It’s the madness of Majesty, before they became Dream Theater. The lunatic input could very well come from musical geniusses like Steve Vai or Frank Zappa. It’s by far the best song for me, next to "Once Upon A Lifetime".

"Lost In A Dream" contains a spoken part in the midst of the song. These words were taken from poems by Edgar Allen Poe. Yes, Gwillion know their classics, as you can see. The sudden mood change is unexpected and therefore very exciting. Slowly, it takes this song to a beautiful climax. The demo closes with a song called "Helpless", which is more in the gothic metal style with some progressive parts to it and a little more power.

Gwyllion has opened my eyes, what a magnificent band!

Line up: Annelore Vantomme on vocals, Martijn Debonnet on guitars and backing vocals, Steve Deleu on guitars, Thomas Halsberghe bass guitar, Joris Debonnet on keys and backing vocals and Wouter Debonnet on drums, percussion and flute.

9/10

By : Toine van Poorten (February 2008)

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"Forever Denying the Never" Demo
- reviewed by BMU

I was quite surprised to learn that "Double Diamond" drummer, Wouter Debonnet (ex-Rhymes of Destruction) also played in a progressive metal band, together with his two brothers Martijn (guitars) en Joris (keyboards).
Let all those who claim that talent has nothing to do with genetics be struck down by one of the good Lord’s monday-morning-farts. This Debonnet-threesome forms the striking band "Gwyllion", together with Thomas Halsberghe (bass) and Valerie Vanhoutte (vocals), and they prove otherwise ...

Their first demo CD, "Forever Denying the Never" came down on me like a cold shower. Where did these people come from ... ? Why haven’t I heard of them before ... ? Except the fact that the artwork could have used a little more thinking and creativity, it’s nearly perfect in every way. But ... it’s still a demo CD, and it’s my opinion that the expectations and costs of demo’s these days are way too high, compared to the low-budget demo tapes back in the eighties (which did the trick too).
The key to my instant attraction to this CD lies in the very strong compositions, with sometimes very unexpected elements. That’s why "Strings of Fate", with the -Goddamn bitchin’- intro immediately got my full attention.

While the Debonnet brothers are all musically educated since their childhood, Valerie claims never to have seen the inside of a music academy or -class. It doesn’t show, because this young mother (who gave birth to baby-girl "Jasmien" last January) has a nice wide-range voice, which places her right beside Ellen Schutyser (Sengir) or Kimme Franssen (Willow’s Whisper) when it comes to female vocals in Belgium. A very remarkable thing is how she combines the high ’Tarja-voice’ with a ’regular’ singing-voice (like the mighty Kristell from ’Skeptical Minds’). If I had to choose (and I will), I would definitely go with the regular voice. Although Valerie’s high voice is pretty powerful and impressive, it’s hardly original and the regular voice brings the band out of the "we all heard this before"-trap, giving them an own identity ... something unique and recognizable.
Valerie sounds very emotional when she sings like that. She expresses anger, happiness, sorrow or dispair in a very touching and addictive way. That’s why "Curse of the Wise" definately is my favourite track on this little masterpiece. It has twin-vocals (male/female) and Valerie will -without any doubt- impress many people with this song. She sure as hell impressed me with it ... *whiping the tears off my face*. And this is an up-beat song with funcky drum parts. A ballad from these guys would probably kill me.

Without stepping through the entire line-up, we can lay back and take it for a fact that all band members are very skilled in handling their instruments. They prove this in each of the five songs on the CD, starting with the not-all-revealing, yet very nice "Forever Me" (1). Set-aside that its origin lies somewhere closeby the Nightwish-football team, it’s a very well composed and well performed song. I would never have put this song first on the CD, as it is the one song that least of all captures the essence of Gwyllion. It’s like starting your CD with a cover song. People often make up their minds about a band during the first song of a CD, and in this case ... they would be wrong (as was I).

Another decoration on Gwyllion’s cap is the fact that everything is there, but nothing is overdone. They don’t overdo it on the keyboards as many similar bands tend to do, nor on the soloing or long instrumental parts. Everything is where it has to be, and all in moderation. Like I mentioned before : strong compositions ...

Another song that’s surely worth mentioning, is the folky "Running Together" (2). Once again a demonstration of what this band is capable of. The song starts with a Psycho-like ’eech-eech-eech’, but changes direction right after that. Here too, very nice vocals. The playful piano parts in the first half of the song sure help setting a cheerful mood.
Just like all five songs, this song too has its own charactiristics. No two songs are alike, which makes it possible to listen to this CD several times after another without getting bored with it ...

The "Bonus track" (6) treads all over the built-up mood and atmosphere of the CD with big muddy boots, but it’s f*ck*ng hilarious ...

I invited Gwyllion to play at our BMU-Fest next July, and after listening to this CD -and giving it all of my attention- I can rock-steady say that there’s not a parasite on my entire body that regrets this ... !

By : Filip Lasseel (BMU - March 2005)

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"Forever Denying the Never" Demo
- reviewed by Musketeer of De@th

A new woman-fronted band has found its way to the firmament. The name of this new born baby: Gwyllion. The first thing that got my attention was the band’s line up containing two ex-members of the already legendary-in-Belgium pagan-black metal band Rhymes of Destruction. Well this is some real other shit they’re playing here, progressive goth-touched metal with female vocals. The main sound is coming from the keys, which are very on the foreground. This all in a very positive way, they mould the music into their different aspects and perfectly translate the mood the song is in. The guitars are heavy with a lot of melody, they make the music actually live. The breath of life in their music is given by the beautiful wide ranged female voice that can be situated somewhere between Sharon den Adel and Tarja Turunen. The character of the band is formed by the drums, without any doubt strong and powerful. All these qualities give this band to a very strong personality.

Most of the songs are touching and fragile on one hand and very powerful and heavy on the other hand. The sometimes unpredictable structures makes it a joy for the ear and makes the album very interesting. Bombast and fragility rise high in "Forever Me", romanticism and melancholy are proudly present at "Helpless". "Running Together" is kind of more traditional folk song, where I expected even Dutch lyrics. A masterly scream, which reminded me of the scream in the musical "The phantom of the opera" is a nice break in the middle of the song. The very nice key-melodies in this song gives me a very happy feeling.

The artwork really shows what you can expect of their music. The force, power and unpredictable move of water in the beauty of mother nature.

Gwyllion stand out of the most ’women’ bands. If you’re into ’woman’-metal or progressive metal give this band a time of listening. I’m sure you’ll have a great time.

By : Emillio Verschueren (Musketeer of De@th - April 2005)

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"Forever Denying the Never" Demo
- reviewed by Stop at Nothing

Eerste woord dat bij me opkomt: Vernieuwend.

Deze vijfkoppige band uit Kortrijk brengt Symfonische Metal. Maar hoe !!! Enorme originele songstructuren en af en toe wat folky. Sommige nummers zijn dan een beetje minder opgewekt, wat een mooie afwisseling is. Zangeres Valerie maakt het compleet af, hier en daar is een hoge uithaal, maar ze gebruikt haar normale stem en dat maakt het geheel perfect. De demo is prachtig, elk nummer heeft zijn eigenheid en van herhaling is hier geen sprake. Er worden vijf nummers gepresenteerd + een bonustrack (voor de South park fans) met als hoogtepunten Running Together en Strings of Fate. Ik wacht vol ongeduld op hun volgende release.

Score: 90 %

By : Peter (Stop at Nothing - September 2005)

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"Forever Denying the Never" Demo
- reviewed by uuMetal.com

Tonight we’ll cool things down a bit and take a break from the harder, growly, thrashy metal of the past few updates and let you guys relax to the Symphonic Gothic Metal sound of Gwyllion. These guys are a pretty decent band from Belgium that combine almost Within Temptation like vocals with occasional backup male vocals and some easy to listen to but still just hard enough metal instrumentals. Alright, that there wasn’t very descriptive, let me try again.

They’re very obviously Gothic Metal, you can tell that right from the start (well, not the beginning of the songs start, but we’ll get to that in a minute). They don’t have any crazy gimmicky sound to call their own, just good Gothic metal at its most basic level. They do, however, have the bonus of being symphonic, as well, so you don’t have to worry about these guys being boring at all. It’s nothing overly complex, though. No giant orchestra or overly done keyboard solos that go on for hours and hours and definitely no crazy operatic bits that I know some people aren’t big into and thus will pass up the genre completely.

The vocals are nice and clear, and like I said she doesn’t do anything over the top with her voice. While I do like that opera sound a good deal, there’s really nothing like good, clean, slightly better than average (ok, maybe a lot more than slightly) singing. The back-up male vocals don’t overpower the main vocals, either, and they aren’t there often enough to constitute the sometimes cliché male/female duet bit. It’s just a nice touch that sets off the rest of the music nicely.

The keyboard is very nicely done throughout all of the music, pretty when need be and harder when the time comes for the metal sound to really make itself known. There’s a very nice classical touch to a lot of it that adds to the symphonic feel and also helps to set the scene, if that makes sense, for the Gothic bit as well. There’s a lot of talent going on here that you can here in ’Helpless,’ especially, where it’s got a very classical feel but manages to blend into the rest in a way that makes it all feel completely metal.

The guitar is heavy and yet not. Yes, there’s my wonderful talent for description making itself known again. Seriously, though, it may be that the guitar and the keyboard set each other off, but the guitar manages to sound heavy but at the same time it doesn’t allow the sound to break out of it’s appointed genre into some weird Gothic hair metal hybrid like it has the potential for. The drums, as well, do pretty much this exact same thing.

Really, they sound kind of Evanescence-y, but a lot more metal and they sound kind of Within Temptaion-y, but a bit deeper and darker. They’ve got a nice blend of styles and sounds. My one biggest critique with them, and you won’t find this in the mp3s we’ve posted here I don’t think even, is that they have some pretty stupid intros to a few of their songs. They take a couple of south park clips and an Austin Powers clip and throw them into the beginnings of a few songs, and it just does not fit at all. It’s good for a laugh the first time, but then it’s just kind of like... why did they put this there? Honestly, why? I guess there might be some deep, underlying connection between the two, but humor tv shows and movies do not mix well with pretty girly vocals I don’t think. Still, I laughed, and if that’s what they were going for they succeeded.

Ok, that’s all for tonight guys. Go download and have a blast.

By : Eudoxus (uuMetal.com - March 2006)

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Live @ The Frontline
- reviewed by Musketeer of De@th

Due to work I had to miss openers Ogress (B), so Gwyllion was the beginning of my live-portion of metal today. Although this band was a stranger on the line-up, because of not playing a variant of heavy metal, they stood their ground. Their progressive got-touched metal was played very decent and intense with a humorous wink. They had the power to attract the attention of the Heavy Metal Freaks and keep it. Great rolling drums, very decent guitar playing, obstinate keys and some very powerful female vocals impressed and most of all convinced. A nice gig.

By : Emillio Verschueren (Musketeer of De@th - July 2005)

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Live @ Blikfest
- reviewed by Mindview Magazine

Vervolgens was het de beurt aan één van onze Belgische trotsen binnen de female-fronted metal bands: Gwyllion. Na een ietwat lange soundcheck begon deze band erg sterk. De intro was niet al te lang, waardoor het ook niet saai begon en ze speelden een retestrakke set. Hemelse melodieën en prachtige vocalen zweefden ons trommelvlies binnen en het was dan ook puur genieten. Na een luidkeels ’we want more’-geroep kwam de band nogmaals op de bühne om nog een laatste nummer te spelen.

By : Tim Tronckoe (Mindview - November 2007)

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Live @ Frostrock
- reviewed by Thoughts of Metal

It was only in the week of the 1st of January that I decided to go to Frostrock (website) - or better said, remembered to go. Last year I had it all planned weeks in advance, but couldn’t make it due to falling ill two days before the festival. So I decided to not let it happen again. The ticket got reserved on the 4th of January and the 5th I was ready to go.

On the bill there were some fine bands (see below) I already knew, either from having one or more releases or just the name. BULLET RIDER was the only new one for me. Finding the venue, Zaal Blommenhof, wasn’t too easy, also because Staden isn’t exactly a big city. Luckily the church was a fine beakon. ;-) The weather forecast of the past few days indicated it would rain, which isn’t always a pleasant happening. But all was still fine upon arriving and there weren’t too many people yet, some 10-15 minutes before opening of the doors (15h00).

BULLET RIDER (B) - www.myspace.com/bulletriderbe
ARTRACH (B) - www.myspace.com/artrach
GWYLLION (B) - www.myspace.com/gwyllionmetal
SPOIL ENGINE (B) - www.myspace.com/spoilengine
THURISAZ (B) - www.myspace.com/thurisazmusic
KILLER (B) - www.myspace.com/killerhelgium
ANCIENT RITES (B) - www.myspace.com/ancienthordes

(...)

Around 17h40-50 it was time for GWYLLION to conquer the stage. I’ve seen quite some dates when this band was booked in 2006 and 2007. Some comments on a couple of forums very much praised the band’s efforts. And so the name kept sticking, but I never...well, the intention to really check the band’s songs was postponed continuously for reasons even unknown to me. Still, they were also coming to Staden, so this was an excellent opportunity to hear and see what they had in stall. Six young people, five guys and one girl, who does the lead vocals. I have to say I was very sceptic, but this was soon wiped away for the biggest part when the first songs were played. Honesty obliges me to say that Annelore can indeed sing, and doesn’t stick to the same kind of singing, as she even tries for a very light form of (mezzo?)soprano at specific moments. Martijn (guitar) does the backings and during the band’s performance I think he does well on backing vocals, but wouldn’t do so well when doing leads. Plus, it gives the songs something extra when sung by a female voice.

Musically they can be catalogued under Symphonic Metal, as the keyboards often determine the melody and fluently add atmospheric backing when needed. Still, due to the variety of the material one might as well say they’re Progressive Power Metal... with a light Gothic touch... and a few tinges of Folk. After relistening to "Awakening The Dream" I have to add that at least one comparable band: AFTER FOREVER, especially their self-titled album (2007).

Their performance was quite powerful - although the guitars weren’t always sounding that well, lacking a bit of strength - and especially drummer Wouter Debonnet really amazed me. When his kit was being installed on stage, that was only one step. His playing was the second. Calm pieces, uptempo stuff... he can play it all and is very much qualified to play in a Thrash/Death/Black Metal band. His skills also make the songs more powerful, as he really gives his all, not sticking to a fixed pattern, but adding spicey fills via the cymbals and toms - even when you wouldn’t expect it. With certain songs from other bands there are times when I feel the drumming could use some change here and there. When those musicians haven’t done it themselves, I might do it in their stead... mentally. :-) But Wouter really surprised me. Annelore’s versatile voice is one of the characteristics of the band and their music: she can sing gently, but also more fiercely when the music requires it.

Off their first album they played six of the eight songs. Two new songs, "Entwined" and "Void" completed the setlist. After the show I bought the album and had a small talk with Martijn. He informed me that they’ll go into the studio sometime in the summer, if I understood well, to record the follow-up of "Awakening The Dream".

Hearing the album the day after the gig, I can only say I’m glad I saw the band live AND have at least one release of them in my collection. I’m planning to see them again in March, in Izegem, even though it’s more for SYLVER MYST that I’m going. I saw it on one of the flyers at Frostrock itself that GWYLLION would also play that day. Anyhow, to cut things short: GWYLLION is a must to see and hear and have great potential to become bigger. And so does ARTRACH. :-)

Playlist:

Curse Of The Wise
Entwined
Void
Running Together
Helpless
Trinity
Once Upon A Lifetime
Lost In A Dream

(...)

My first Frostrock (I had to cancel the 2007 edition because of being sick) and one I can look back at pretty satisfied. Personally speaking, three bands stood out: ARTRACH, GWYLLION and THURISAZ. ARTRACH only confirmed what I already knew since their gig in Heule in 2006. GWYLLION was a name I had known for years, but never managed to check ’em out properly. I therefore want to thank the organisation for booking this band, for I have really enjoyed their show. Buying the demo/album afterwards was a somewhat risky undertaking, since I didn’t know if they’d sound as powerful on CD. They are, I can now safely say. And I’ve got another ’favourite’ Belgian band for my list. They can get big and they truly deserve it. THURISAZ was also absolutely stunning and perhaps even better than on CD, hahaha. Vocals, instrumentation, everything came out very well and more powerful than expected, even though their music isn’t simple. SPOIL ENGINE didn’t do me much. Too Metalcore-ish, too many reminders of SLIPKNOT, too much of the same. KILLER...nothing but respect and thumbs up for adding a good dose of entertaining material. To be honest, the biggest surprise was BULLET RIDER, even though this is s till a beginning band and they still have a long way to go. But you can see that, mainly via vocalist Sammy, the guys possess an enormous amount of passion and pleasure ("een applausje vo min tante en min nonkel" - hilarious stuff during the soundcheck) and take their time to fully develop.

Belgium has a lot to offer regarding Metal, that is the grand conclusion of this years festival. See you again next year?

By : Thoughts of Metal (January 2008)

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Live @ Mandeldaele
- reviewed by Thoughts of Metal

Rock Mandeldaele is a local event, organized on a monthly basis, by the people of Café Mandeldaele (website). This takes place in Emelgem, an adjacent community of Izegem, Belgium. Rock Mandeldaele is a general name for the concerts: one time you’ve got cover bands coming over, another time the organizers opt for something more extreme and last Saturday, the 15th, 4 female-fronted bands were scheduled, all Belgian, except for the Dutch headliner: EVERGLOW, GWYLLION, ANGELI DI PIETRA and SYLVER MYST. Although I had never heard of this event or the whole setup of ROCK MANDELDAELE, my attention was drawn because of the poster that SYLVER MYST put on their MySpace page.

(...)

Around 20h50 it was time for GWYLLION to hit the stage. Wouter’s enormous and stunning drumkit took the most space, leaving little room for Steve, Martijn, Annelore and Thomas to move around. The band from Kortrijk had to start earlier, originally, but due to major sound problems the start had to be postponed again and again. One time the drums were too loud, then the keyboards and guitars weren’t well matched, Annelore not hearing anything through her monitors.... In the end the guitarvolume was decreased to let the keyboards come out stronger, although the drums still remained the loudest instrument.

I could copy-paste the text from the report of Frostrock, but considering the sound problems, it wouldn’t be right to do so. Annelore once again sang extremely well, perhaps even better than at Frostrock. I couldn’t believe my ears and I don’t care how much butt I’m kissing here. Wouter’s performance was - like before - top notch and nothing less but perfect. Excellent drummer, I tells ya! The guitarwork was still loud enough to do the songs justice. Joris (keyboards) was now more in the spotlights, which was good. The setlist was long, even longer than in January. Of course they played everything from their debut album, "Awakening The Dream", plus the two new songs "Entwined" and "Void". If I recall, they did come back in the end, after the many cheers they received from the crowd, to play "Running Together" again, with Wouter adding some improvised fills for the fun of it.

In the last part of the set the people from SYLVER MYST had arrived and looked with great interest to what GWYLLION was doing. Like me they were enjoying the gig very much. ;-) Or in short: GWYLLION live = always a great time! I’m really looking forward to the new material, but that will have to wait until fall or later, since the mixing and mastering is planned for this summer.

Playlist:

Intro
Entwined
Trinity
Strings Of Fate
Void
Forever Me
Curse Of The Wise
Running Together
Helpless
Once Upon A Lifetime
Lost In A Dream

(...)

Conclusion: Eternal hails to Guy and Hilde for organizing a monthly Rock/Metal event under the banner Rock Mandeldaele and thus providing the West-Flemish Metalheads with a entertaining evening of quality music. I had a great time and I will come back for another episode of this event. About the bands: EVERGLOW was very new to me, but could only convince me to a certain extent. Musically it’s all quite alright with the drums being the most interesting instrument - considering how much input they have - and the vocals (nothing personal, though) lacking a bit of diversity, if you ask me. Still, I have the impression they won’t become a well-known band, except perhaps in Belgium. That is, if they’re not aiming for the sky. GWYLLION needs no extra comment, since they offer nothing but quality and consists of excellent musicians. They can get bigger and their forthcoming album - to be mixed and mastered by Jens Bogren - should, no, will be a great tool for that. ANGELI DI PIETRA was - like I said above - the surprise of the evening. They too can get far, in Belgium and abroad. They too have an album coming out this year. SYLVER MYST is one of my favourites and it was absolutely great to see them again, albeit for the second time. They’ve grown a lot and their stage presence and composition skills are a clear proof of that. While EPICA, AFTER FOREVER, NEMESEA, AUTUMN and so many other Gothic or Gothic-styled bands made a name out there, SYLVER MYST (SYMY for the fans) also deserves this, but it takes time and connections.

By : Thoughts of Metal (March 2008)

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Live @ CD Release (JH Tap)
- reviewed by Ashladan

Het was in spanning afwachten of de nieuwe zangeres Ann Van Rooy -opvolgster van Annelore Vantomme, die vlak na het opnemen van de nieuwe CD de groep verliet- op amper zes weken tijd de nummers goed genoeg zou kennen, en of ze die ook waardig zou kunnen brengen. Ann stond dus ook lichtelijks onder druk, want fans zijn nu eenmaal onvoorspelbaar. De release van "The Edge of All I Know" zou dus de vuurdoop zijn.

Het optreden begint met de meest legendarische woorden ooit: "Waar is de zangeres?!?"

Blijkt achteraf dat die zich nog aan het omkleden was, en dat het dus niet te wijten was aan een paniekaanval of zoiets dergelijks.

Men begint met de intro van de nieuwe CD: "In Silence Enclosed", waarbij dus ook niet gezongen wordt. Daarop volgt "Entwined". Ann begint te zingen, het publiek lijkt even na te denken of ze het wel goed vinden, maar al na een paar minuten is iedereen dolenthousiast.

Want als er nu één ding is dat je niet kan ontkennen, dan is het wel dat Ann Van Rooy kan zingen. Haar stembereik kan zowel hoog, laag, tussenin, en klanken met een lichte opera-like ondertoon aan, en dat is bij het publiek niet onopgemerkt gebleven.

Tijdens de eerste nummers loopt het nog een heel klein beetje stijfjes, maar hoe langer hoe meer krijgt Ann zichtbaar meer zelfvertrouwen op het podium en staat ze daar, met momenten zelfs met een echte Tarja Turunen-flair!

Gwyllion brengt de gehele nieuwe CD, en daarbij horen niet alleen complimentjes voor de nieuwe zangeres: zo zijn ook de muzikanten perfect op elkaar ingespeeld. Bovendien wordt er op voorhand genoeg tijd gespendeerd aan het stemmen en het correct instellen van de geluidsverhoudingen en dat werpt zijn vruchten af.
Mooi detail: Ann draagt het nummer "Roots of Reality" op aan Annelore, en dat lijkt ook hun publiek te appreciëren.

Gwyllion speelt nog drie bisnummers: "Trinity", "Once" en "Lost". En hoewel er daarna niks meer komt, blijft toch iedereen nog een tijdje verwachtingsvol staan wachten op meer.

Als Ann buitenkomt, wordt ze langs alle kanten aangesproken door fans die niks anders dan lof spreken. "Annelore kon zingen, jah, maar wat Ann doet is niet te omschrijven!" aldus een heel enthousiaste fan. En ook Wouter´s oude drumsteacher was enorm enthousiast.

Kortom: Gwyllion had geen betere opvolgster kunnen vinden dan Ann Van Rooy (remember the name), en daar is iedereen ongelofelijk blij om.
Gwyllion is een band met topklasse, ga dus zeker eens kijken op hun myspace!

By : Ashladan (March 2009)

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Live @ CD Release (JH Tap)
- reviewed by Thoughts of Metal

Saturday, 21st of March 2009, a day to never forget, as Belgium’s no. 1 female-fronted Metal band, GWYLLION, - ok, some exaggeration here, but still... - presents its newest album to the audience, consisting of local and German fans, at least if I paid enough attention. To make the evening extra special, two fellow label bands came over to present their material, but also pave the way for GWYLLION.

(...)

And then, le moment suprême: GWYLLION! I’ve already seen them twice, twice it was great. They have released solid material and their newest album quite simply doesn’t cease to amaze me. That may sound like sucking up, butt-kissing or whatever, but I am serious and this has little to do with the origins of the band. Well, that does play a role, but in the end it’s the music that matters. Since it will be some time before I see GWYLLION live again, I just had to be in Kuurne, also because this was the live debut of the new singer, Ann Van Rooy, who replaced Annelore Vantomme, who can still be heard on the album, "The Edge Of All I Know".

There was absolutely no nervosity or some could hide it very well. Thank the gods of Metal that Wouter’s drumkit was still standing, since the other bands made use of it and Wouter was a bit worried something would go wrong. But there was nothing to worry about. As the sound for the other bands wasn’t always good enough, it was for GWYLLION. What a surprise! But I hoped it would be better, because the way Wouter plays, you cannot afford to mess with the sound then. Or even when Joris’ keyboards interventions have to come to the front... equally important.

This evening was about "The Edge Of All I Know". So the band played the album in its entirety and added three songs off "Awakening The Dream", with Wouter taking out his flute/recorder (look it up on e.g. Wikipedia, since it’s not what you might think it is ;-)) for a lesson lots of students have to take in school, to finish the set. After the intro, the music broke loose and I guess the enthusiasm, the adrenaline, the joy, excitement, tension, etc... made it hard for the band, especially Wouter, to play at a normal speed. Instead the music came rolling out the speakers about two gears higher. While this may work to some extent, it can also break or damage the magic of the material as played on CD. And that’s how it felt in a way, even if I was having a very good time, with my heart juming of sheer joy and happiness. Instrumentally it was flawless, flawless, I tells ya! The crowd went exstatic. Well, not really, but they did cheer a lot.

We all know how good the album is and how good a singer Annelore Vantomme is. But how would Ann do it, being thrown to the lions, trying to stand her ground in the small arena? Having to learn many songs’ lyrics in a period of several weeks isn’t easy. Trying to sing them with the right timbre and intonation even less. Or is it the other way around? Either way, hats off for her perseverance and efforts. At first she had to find her way a bit, but little by little her vocal chords came loose, by manner of speech, and she sang each following song better and better, be it "Void", the überfast "Rage" or even the slower "Beyond Goodbye" where high notes were to be reached. Ann passed the test and amazed us all.

In between songs Ann told about how she got in the band and how this and that happened. For "Roots Of Reality" she sincerely showed admiration for Annelore’s input on the album and dedicated the song to her. What followed in terms of vocal performance was surprisingly good, very good even. Singing with Metal backing is one thing, having just the piano as support and guidance is another, as the voice is put in the spotlights even more. Here as well, during "Angelheart", I have to give kudos to Ann for her performance. Both these songs, especially them, were brought in a way that made me suppress some tears (this time not exaggerating). Well, I was getting a bit tired due to it having been late all week. Or it was a mix of both the band’s performance and fatigue that caused this. Either way, if it was good, it has to be said. I now understand why Wouter was so enthusiastic about Ann’s addition, for I don’t think anyone comes closer to Annelore’s voice than her and that’s exactly what GWYLLION needed. Unlike what happened to NIGHTWISH when they added someone with a completely different voice. Ok, lots of talk about the new singer, but that was also the biggest change. It does remain clear that each of the members is a very skilled musician (be it on guitar, keyboards or drums) and at some point I thought bassist Thomas would fit very well in a Jazz formation, seeing how he plays. Oh, did I mention Wouter’s drumwork? He kicked ass and showed INFINITE HORIZON and THE CLAYMORE for which band the evening was reserved. GWYLLION a must to hear and see? Hell yes!

Playlist:

Intro
Entwined
Void
Rage
Beyond Goodbye
The Night Awakes
Closure
Thousand Words
Roots Of Reality
Angelheart
Trinity
Once Upon A Lifetime
Lost In A Dream

Three bands that fit in the same category, yet are so different from each other. As good as THE CLAYMORE is on a musical level, I can’t deny that Andreas Grundmann needs more roughness in his singing, as it might contrast a bit too often with the music. INFINITE HORIZON surprised me and I’ll surely add at least one of their albums to my collection later. But everything revolved around GWYLLION, but you could see that INFINITE HORIZON and THE CLAYMORE were keen on presenting their material and not let the headliner get all the credit. The first gig for GWYLLION with Ann on vocals would be crucial for the next concerts, also because this first gig was the release party of the new album, "The Edge Of All I Know". Luckily all went very smooth and the band can hit the other stages with great confidence. This diamond in the rough is shining brighter and brighter.

By : Thoughts of Metal (March 2009)

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Interview with Rock City

Tell me please a little bit about GWYLLION before the release of the new album?

Gwyllion was born in the fall of 2003, when a few guys that had already played in several other bands - none of which too serious - joined up with the intention to finally do the best they could on a musical level. The band quickly released a demo cd, started gigging, and in the spring of 2007 the debut album ‘Awakening the Dream’ was released.
This album and the supporting gigs were very well received with the fans and the press, though the production of the album wasn’t stellar, so the band decided to open up all registers for the follow-up of this album. 6 months were spent pre- producing ‘The Edge of All I Know’, and in the summer of 2008, studio time was booked with producer and legend Jens Bogren at the Fascination Street Studios in Sweden, to produce, mix & master the new album.

Which expectations have you got on the new record?

We are very proud of what we have achieved with this record. This is the first production where we have made no compromises, anything with even a doubt if it was good enough was discarded and we have worked with the best producer and the best artwork designers we could think of.
Even if there are no new chances for Gwyllion after this record, we will always be extremely proud of what we have achieved, but of course we hope that this album will find its way to as much people as possible, and that those people will appreciate the music we are creating. We love to play live, so hopefully this record will open some doors for us to be able to play some bigger stages. Plans are being made to go on tour with two of the bigger bands in the scene, so at least one of our dreams will be coming true already!

How would you describe your kind of style?

We describe it as ‘Symphonic Female-Fronted Metal’, because we like to use a lot of symphonic keyboards in our music and obviously our lead singer is female. We don’t really see ourselves as Gothic Metal, which is the style a lot of bands with a similar line-up are playing. But in the end we are not thinking of ourselves as bound to any style, we like to take influences from any music we like and if an idea fits in a song, we will not hesitate to use it - even if it has an industrial feel, or a jazz feel, or whatever. The only thing that matters to us is that it sounds good to our ears!

Which musical influences would you name?

A lot, actually. Obviously all of the band members have different influences, from classical music to movie scores, from folk music to death and black metal, and so on. In any case there are no particular bands that we want to sound like.
If you do want to hear some names, of course I can only speak for myself, but bands that have had a big influence on my life are Metallica, Dream Theater, Pain of Salvation, Children of Bodom, Nightwish, In Flames, Dimmu Borgir, Dismal Euphony, Immortal, Samael, Katatonia, and a lot more.
I also really like the movie scores of Hans Zimmer and Danny Elfman, among others.

How do you come to the bandname GWYLLION? Are there any intentions behind the bandname? What does GWYLLION mean?

A Gwyllion is a fairy from the Celtic mythology. Most members in the band have a big interest in ancient mythologies (Nordic, Germanic, Celtic, Greek, Roman,...) and a lot of the band’s lyrics are situated in dreams, visions or thoughts.

GWYLLION is surely a real liveband. Have you often play live in the past and have you played for bigger bands?

Yes, playing live is what we really love to do. We play as much shows as we can and always enjoy being on stage. In the past, we have opened for Diablo Swing Orchestra, Haggard and After Forever, to name a few.

What are your aims and wishes for the future?
a) as bandmember

I hope Gwyllion can continue to make great music and great albums, I really hope to go back to Jens Bogren and Fascination Street Studios for our next album. I would also really like to play a few of the bigger festivals - Graspop in Belgium, Wacken, Summerbreeze, Earthshaker,... in Germany, and so on, and I can’t wait to finally go on tour with Gwyllion!

b) as private person

Actually I’d like to continue the way I’m living now! Working a great job in the daytime, doing everything I can for the band in the free time, and taking every chance I can to take the band to the next level!

Have you got jobs beneath the band? Or is the music the one and only focus in your life?

Yes we all have day-jobs, Gwyllion is not selling nearly enough records to provide bread and shelter for six people... I am working as an IT manager in a production company, Ann is a secretary in a roof-building company, Martijn is a student spectator in high-school, Steve works in IT support, Thomas is an off-set printer and Joris is still studying at the university in Ghent.

Your plans in 2009?

Releasing the album, playing as many gigs as possible, starting to write the next album, and above all, having as much fun as possible with the band!

Any messages for our readers?

Thanks a lot for reading, check out our new album and come to a live-show if you like what you hear! We hope you’ll have as much fun as we do!

By : Jens Reimnitz (Rock City - March 2009)

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Interview with Gothic Magazine

Since not all of our readers will know your band, could you give a short introduction?

Gwyllion is a Female-Fronted Symphonic Metalband from Belgium. The band was formed in the fall of 2003, and since the first day our goal was to make powerful music with a powerful female voice. We started performing some gigs and recorded a demo CD in 2004, but things got a bit more serious with the release of our first album, ‘Awakening the Dream’, in the spring of 2007.
This album was self-produced and self-released, but still it was very well received with the fans and the press, so we decided to take things to the next level and really push ourselves for the follow-up album, ‘The Edge of All I Know’. This time we went with our favorite producer Jens Bogren, contacted Monument Studio for the artwork, and worked harder than we ever did before to make the best album we have ever made.
All this effort seemed to pay off, as for this album we were able to sign a deal with Black Bards for the release in Europe, and Rubicon Music for the release in Japan.
So now the album is ready to be released, all the deals are signed, and we’re very excited to start touring in support of the album we are so proud of!

You seem to have some line-up changes, especially with the singer. Is it difficult to replace a characteristic voice like Annelore’s?

Yes, of course it is. Annelore is not only a phenomenal singer, she was also a very close friend, and it is always very tough to see someone leave something that you have worked so hard on together... Still we are very proud of what she achieved on the new album, and it will always be a testimony of what kind of singer she really is.
When Annelore left, it was a major blow for us, but in a way we were very lucky to find a replacement singer in a pretty short time. Ann Van Rooy joined Gwyllion in the beginning of February. She’s a classically trained singer with a lot of power in her voice, and she learned all the songs of the new album in about three weeks, so that may give you an idea of what kind of singer she is!

Why does the bandinfo say that Steve is one of the funniest guitar players in the world?

I don’t think it says ‘funniest’, actually I think it says ‘strangest’, which is kind of true :-) We like to joke around a lot with each other on rehearsals and gigs. Steve is a great guy and a great guitar player, but you do have to get used to his antics and his impressions of Belgian comedians!

What does the album title "The Edge Of All I Know" mean?

‘The Edge of All I Know’ is a line from the song ‘A Thousand Words’, which is a summary of what the album is about. The album centers around relations - this can be any relation: between two friends, between lovers, between man and nature,... - and how there can be a world of difference in the perception of the different parties.
Two persons who are looking at the same thing at the same moment can see two entirely different things, and that’s what the album is about. There are some things that are facts, things we know, but there are other things that can be entirely colored by the perception of the person that is experiencing it, which goes beyond the edge of what we know... And I believe this edge is closer to us than we think.

Could you tell me something about the cover?

We are extremely happy about the cover. When we were writing the album, and the plans were there to go to Jens Bogren for the production, we were already convinced we had something special and we also wanted to translate this into the artwork. So we started to look at some artwork designed by several studios, and one of them really stood out: Monument Studio. We contacted them and they really proved to be great guys!
We had a lot of talks with Pascal and Dennis from Monument, to explain the concept of the album and the idea behind each separate song. We delivered the lyrics and the early mixes to them so they could get a feel for our music, and they came up with artwork for each of the songs (which can be seen in the booklet) and artwork covering the whole concept (which can be seen on the cover) that simply blew us away!
Monument has done an incredible job to translate our music and lyrics into visual art, and I really believe that, when you look at the cover or any of the individual songs in the booklet, there is a very strong relation between what you see in the artwork and what you hear in the music and lyrics!

The production of "The Edge..." is perfect for your style, is there still anything you would do differently the next time?

That’s a very good question, and the answer is I don’t really know! :-) We are incredibly happy with how everything about the new album turned out, and we truly believe Jens Bogren has given us the sound we have always been looking for (and then some). I really hope we can go back to Jens in the Fascination Street Studios in Sweden again for the next album, and I think if he can make our next album sound as good as this one, I will again be extremely happy about it... But maybe it is too early to say, and maybe we will have a few new ideas in a year or so, we’ll see!

Did you have any guests on "The Edge..."? If you could choose a guest, who would you like to work with and why?

There were some ideas about having some guest performances on the album, but in the end we decided this should be an album that was purely Gwyllion, without any extra performances.
We are not opposed to the idea of asking musicians you respect to be part of your album though, so who knows in the future we’ll also be able to try this! There have been no plans in this direction whatsoever, but if I could choose anyone I think I’d go for Floor Jansen or Doro, both are female singers with an incredible voice and it would be great if they could honor us with a performance. It would also be great to have someone outside of the music industry - an actor, a writer,... - as a guest to do something different... Who knows ?

What is the music and especially the metal and gothic-scene like in Belgium?

There’s a pretty good metal scene in Belgium, especially centering around Antwerp, but I think it’s mainly focused on Death Metal and more extreme genres of metal. I enjoy that kind of music as well, but I feel there’s a smaller scene for bands that are less extreme, but still metal. But of course that means this scene can only get bigger!
There are some great bands in Belgium though, that are incredibly underrated in other countries... I have always felt bands like Oceans of Sadness (unbelievably great progressive dark metal), Thurisaz (one of the best atmospheric metal bands I know), In-Quest (extremely technical death metal),... should get a lot more attention than they are getting now… In my opinion, those bands can easily compete with the biggest international metal bands, but they are playing in local clubs instead... Pity because a lot more people should experience the great music they create!

When will we be able to see you live in Germany?

We have played in Germany once before last year, and the next performance that’s confirmed there is the Celtic Rock festival (the 25th of July). I’m sure we will be able to confirm some more shows in the near future!

By : Gothic Magazine - March 2009

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Interview with Legacy

First up, could you please tell our readers what´s the meaning of the name "GWYLLION" and where have you found the name?

A Gwyllion is a fairy from the Celtic mythology. Most members in the band have a big interest in ancient mythologies (anywhere from Nordic, Germanic and Celtic to Greek, Roman, and so on) and a lot of the band’s lyrics are situated in dreams, visions or thoughts, with a mythologic touch.

What does that name represent?

It represents the band, of course :-) I think the name ‘Gwyllion’ is really representative for the music we make, and the lyrics we write. The faerie from the Celtic mythology tried to lure travelers away from their path - which is what we are trying to do for our listeners musically, in a way - but if you welcomed the Gwyllion into your home, you had nothing to fear, which is also kind of relevant :-)

"The Edge Of All I Know" is your second full length release now, so what would you say, could the listener (and owner of the first one) expect ´bout the new stuff in your own words?

We have definitely evolved since the first record. I really believe the new album is a lot more mature, obviously on the level of the production - it is the first time we have worked together with a producer, and Jens Bogren is not just any producer - but also on a song writing level. I think the songs are a bit more coherent on the second album, but they lost a bit of the playfulness of the first. It’s a very heavy album, heavier than the first one for sure.
But still, I think we haven’t lost anything of our melodic approach to music, and there is still enough humor to be found in the music, which is also very important to us!
I think we can say that on new album, you will be able to find everything you loved about the first one, and a lot more!

Which songs are most important from your personal point of view on the new record and why!?

Wow, that’s a difficult question :-) Every single song on the album is actually very close to me, because we’ve spent an unbelievable amount of time to get everything just right, and a lot of the songs’ lyrics are obviously very personal to me, since I write a lot of them.
Musically, I think I would say Closure, because that’s just a song that’s immensely fun to play (especially on drums), but lyrically I’d go for A Thousand Words - which is a song that reflects most of the concept of the album by itself - and Entwined and Roots of Reality, the beginning and the end of the circle that is the concept of the album.

What´s the meaning of the cover-artwork? It´s really mighty and dark. And what´s your interpretation?

We’re extremely happy about the cover artwork - and the rest of the artwork in the booklet - that Monument Studio created for us, because it really portrays the music and the lyrics of the album perfectly. It would take hours to explain it all, but on the cover you can see the struggle of one person in his perception of the world, and of other people. He tries to understand it all but total understanding of everything around him is beyond the edge of what he knows, he tries to grasp it but he can’t reach that far. And in essence, that’s what the album is about.

On the album is Annelore Vantomme on vocals, but meanwhile she left the band (again) and the new singer is Ann Van Rooy. What was the reason because Annelore had left the band?

Gwyllion started in 2003 as a small group of friends making music together. Of course we did have great ambitions - who hasn’t, but it has only been in the last year that Gwyllion really started growing and that more and more possibilities were opening up for us.
We aimed very high with the recording of the new album, which put a lot of stress on the members of course, we went to Sweden to produce it, and we signed to a label for the distribution of this album. When the label asked us to go on tour, for a lot of the band members this was a dream coming true, but for Annelore it was one thing too many, and she decided to quit the band.

Isn´t it strange for you as band and for Ann as the new singer to promote a current record on which she isn´t included?

Of course it was strange, especially the moment Annelore told us she was quitting the band. We had worked our asses of for more than a year, and the moment all that work was finally going to pay off, everything seemed to fall apart.
However, we’ve been extremely lucky to find Ann, our new lead singer. When Ann joined the band, she had only 6 weeks to prepare for our release show - and that she did! She has an incredible voice and she’s incredibly motivated to help to take Gwyllion to the next level, as anyone who attended the release show can confirm!

Is a female singer the only option for GWYLLION and why?

Yes, I think so. Not only because our complete back catalogue is written for a female voice - and those songs would sound very strange with male vocals I think - but also because the concept of the band is centered about the instruments we are using now: drums, bass guitars, two guitars, keyboards, and a female voice. It’s the music we write and the atmosphere we want to create, and it would be very different with a male vocalist, live as well as on recordings.

The Edge Of All I Know is a concept record. Could you please tell our readers, what´s the story about the record and which inspirations you had for the composing?

Again, I could go on for hours about this :-) But the album is not really a ‘story’ as such, though it is based around a concept. ‘The Edge of All I Know’ is a line from the song ‘A Thousand Words’, which is a summary of what the album is about. The album centers around relations - this can be any relation: between two friends, between lovers, between man and nature,... - and how there can be a world of difference in the perception of the different parties.
Two persons who are looking at the same thing at the same moment can see two entirely different things. There are some things that are facts, things we know, but there are other things that can be entirely colored by the perception of the person that is experiencing it, which goes beyond the edge of what we know... And this edge can be closer to us than we think.

Belgium isn´t the most popular address when we talk about metal bands. What you think is the reason for that fact!?

Yeah, that’s true, but in fact that’s terrible... You wouldn’t believe how much great bands exist in Belgium today, and how much talent there can be found in our little country.
Check out bands like Oceans of Sadness (I really think of them as one of the greatest bands in the world), Thurisaz, In-Quest, Aborted,... The list goes on, and still most of these bands do not get one percent of the recognition they deserve.
I think it has to do with the attitude of most of the Belgian music industry... While there are great people in the scene who support their favorite bands at every chance they get, most of the Belgian labels or event planners do not give a band a second look or a second listen if they discover it’s a Belgian band, as if bands from their own soil are somehow inferior. And how can a band be respected outside of their own country, if their own country does not show them respect?

The combination of symphonic metal with female vocals always reminds on acts like Nightwish, Within Temptation and stuff. What would say personally: is that categorisation helpful or more a kind of limit for GWYLLION?

I’m not really sure. I really believe that what we are doing is different from bands like Nightwish and Within Temptation, and I don’t think the ‘Gothic’ label is very fitting for us, but still I do like the music from those bands and I agree there are similarities between our music and their music.
In any case I think it’s wrong for a band to be ‘branded’, to say this band plays Gothic and that band plays Speed Metal and so on, and that’s something that happens very fast if you have a female vocalist. But in any case we’re trying to take as many influences from as many music styles as possible, Metal or not, as long as we can make it sound like Gwyllion!

What do you expect from the forthcoming future, what´s next on the list for you guys?

We’re really looking forward to the possibility to go on tour with some of the bigger bands in the scene! We really like to play live, so hopefully there will be some opportunities for us this year – maybe some bigger festivals or whatever, though we like the club gigs a lot as well. And I really can’t wait to go back to Jens Bogren for another album, so we’ll probably start writing as well! :-)

Last but not least, the famous last words are yours...

Thanks a lot to everyone for reading, check out the new album and let us know what you think! If you like it, you’ll always be welcome at one of our live gigs, and with any luck we’ll be able to hang out at the bar together afterwards (isn’t that what Metal’s all about)! :-)

Thank you for the interview!

By : Harald Deschler (Legacy - March 2009)

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Interview with Inn-Joy

What’s your first memory when it comes to music?

Hm, that’s difficult to remember! My father was also a musician and a music fan, so the first music I heard was probably the Beatles or the Shadows!

What has been the turning point in your life which made it clear to you, you want to be musician? A song, a band, a concert or something or did it just come to you like that?

My parents sent me and all my brothers to music school when we were young, but I quit after two years of that classical theory because it couldn’t interest me at all. However, when I discovered bands like Metallica and Sepultura, I always found myself tapping along, which made me pick up the drumsticks, and when I saw Metallica live when I was 13 or 14 years old, I knew I also wanted to get on a stage and perform!

How would you describe your music to someone who had never heard your band before?

Ehm... Symphonic Female-Fronted Metal? :-) It’s music with a lot of power, but also a lot of melody and symphonic keyboards, with a powerful female voice.

Concerning your album: what inspired you for your songs?

A lot of things: Martijn finds his inspiration mostly in nature and long hiking trips in Ireland and Norway, I myself am more inspired by good movies and books, but in the end it can be any number of things: a beautiful picture, a gig from another band, a conversation with friends, and of course heavy drinking :-)

How, in your opinion, do your individual playing and singing styles affect the overall sound of the album?

That’s very important of course, each of the musicians in Gwyllion have their own playing style and that’s one of the things that mark the difference between two bands. We have all poured a bit of our souls into the creation of this album and I hope it shows on the final master! :-)

What’s your life like besides being musicians?

We all have ordinary jobs to be able to pay the bills at the end of the month (except our keyboard player Joris, who is now finishing his last year at the university of Ghent). We like to go out and have a drink with friends as much as the next guy, and we also enjoy to go to other band’s performances as much as possible!

Do you see music more as a job or a hobby?

At the moment it’s definitely a very passionate hobby! We don’t make nearly enough money with the band to be able to live off it, so the only reason we are doing it is because we love playing music together more than anything else in our lives!

When you aren’t playing music, what albums do you find yourself listening to the most and what do you like about them?

That varies a lot, depending on the mood I’m in. I’m listening a lot to bands like Pain of Salvation (especially The Perfect Element, Be and Scarsick), Ayreon (Flight of the Migrator, Dream Sequencer, The Human Equation), Oceans of Sadness (Mirror Palace, The Arrogance of Ignorance) and Thurisaz (Circadian Rhythm) lately, but just before that I had a phase listening to Dimmu Borgir (Enthrone Darkness Triumphant, Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia), Covenant (Nexus Polaris), Graveworm (As The Angels Reach The Beauty), In Flames (Used & Abused Live) and Katatonia (Dance of December Souls and Brave Murder Day), and before that I had another Heavy Metal phase listening to Metallica (first five albums), Megadeth (Countdown to Extinction, Youthanasia), Manowar (Kings of Metal), Rhapsody (Legendary Tales & Symphony of Enchanted Lands) etc!
I just like to listen to the music that complements my mood, it’s very difficult to explain but I’m sure anyone with a love for music will understand. Any music that strikes that feeling with me, I consider good music, whether it be Black Metal, movie scores or even jazz & blues!

How do you prepare before a gig? Any special rituals?

We mostly like to do some warming up just before a gig, there are no special rituals (that I know of) ? Most of the time I can’t wait to go on stage, because performing live is what I love most about being in a band!

What about after the gig? Are you tired, happy, thinking about what you could have done better?

First of all I’m soaked with sweat ? But not really tired (at least not after a few minutes of relaxing), especially if the gig went well - it’s a great feeling of accomplishment afterwards! After a gig I like to be in the audience, talking to some fans or checking out the next band.
There are times when I’m really not happy about my performance, but these things happen and I try not to let it get to me too much, learning from your mistakes is great but beating yourself up about them will get you nowhere...

Coming home after a tour: what does your first day back look like?

No idea whatsoever, because I never had the chance to do a full-blown tour yet ? There are plans though!
I think the first day would consist mostly of sleeping and trying to get the alcohol out of my blood! :-)

On your dream tour, what bands would you be playing alongside?

Sadly it will never happen now, since they quit, but I would have really loved going on tour with After Forever. Nightwish may be another obvious choice, because they are one of the top bands in the genre, or Epica, who are pretty big as well. Doro would also be fantastic!
Less obvious bands that I would love to meet and share the stage with are Pain of Salvation and Dream Theater, because I respect those guys so much as musicians and composers.
And of course if I can really dream, though it will never happen, who would not love to do a tour with a monster band like Metallica (who were my big idols when I was younger)! ? Steve would say Iron Maiden but whatever! ;-)

If you had to do a complete movie-soundtrack, which movie would you choose and why?

Wow that would be great! I don’t know, never really thought about that... Maybe a dark movie like Sin City would be cool, or something like Queen of the Damned - or we could make our own Spinal Tap movie! :-)
In any case, I think we’d jump on the opportunity if anyone ever made us the offer, whatever kind of movie they were trying to make (as long as the script doesn’t suck too hard)!

Do you play video games? If so, which is your favourite and why?

I did more when I was younger than I do now (lack of time), but I really enjoyed the GTA series (played until IV) and Driver, because of the hilarious over-the-top violence and car chases, the Tomb Raiders (mm Lara Croft), Soldier of Fortune (because you could shoot people’s limbs of, or hit them in the neck or the crotch, with hilarious yet painful consequences), and also fantasy games like Diablo and Diablo II, because of the atmosphere and the magic in those games.
Even earlier, I enjoyed Warcraft II very much (not in the least because of the extensive humor in that game), and even earlier, I loved Super Mario Bros, Super Mario Kart, Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat on the SNES (though I never got one no matter how I bugged my parents about it)!

What’s the most embarrassing thing that happened to you on stage?

Fortunately, nothing too embarrassing yet - I managed to break my drum throne and fall down on a rehearsal, and I’ve seen other guys fall of their drum stage live - but I’d say it was one gig way back with Rhymes of Destruction (I was already playing with Martijn then). We were playing a song with a few rhythm changes, and we were getting to a part where the music slows down to half the tempo, and afterwards goes to double tempo. Unfortunately I forgot the slow piece, so I immediately went to the fast part, while the other guys were playing the slow part.
So, I tried to correct my mistake, played out the bars to make it look as if it was intentional, played a fill, and went to the slow part. Which would have worked if the other guys did not go to the fast part at that exact moment. Don’t know how I tried to cover up that one, but I do remember Martijn falling on the floor from laughing so hard :-)

Is there anything in your life you really regret?

Lots of things... I think everyone makes mistakes and I’ve made my share of them. I think the important thing is to learn from them... But sometimes I’m a hard learner so...
When worst comes to worst, there is always still alcohol! :-)

What are your plans for your future? A tour in Germany? =)

I certainly hope so! :-) There are plans to do a tour with a few bigger bands in the genre, probably somewhere in the fall of 2009. We’d like to play as much gigs as possible, and we’d also like to start writing on a new album! And who knows what other opportunities the future may hold :-)
In any case we do have a confirmed show in Germany, we’ll be playing at the Celtic Rock fest at Burg Greifenstein in July!

And last but not least, any words to your fans round here?

Thanks a lot for listening, we hope you enjoy the new album! Feel free to drop us a line at our MySpace our website, and we hope to see you soon on a gig somewhere!

By : Inn-Joy - March 2009

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