Today, we’re going back in time, indeed, we’re going back to the end of 2011! Why? Because there’s a band I really want to review. This band is Lilith To Kill with their EP “Until The End”. The group was formed in June 2011 in the south of France by the lovely Aurélie Lilith and Aqua. They’ve been compared to Evanescence, Lacuna Coil and The Letter Black but the band does present some music that is truly dark, way beyond what Amy Lee shows us in my opinion.

Line-up:

• Aurélie Lilith - Vocals/Piano
• Pierre “Aqua” Brechet - Bass
• Fred - Guitar
• Fabrice - Drums

Tracklist:

1. Lies For Lies
2. Until The End
3. Are You Real?
4. Nightmare
5. Silent Room
6. Lilith To Kill
7. Broken (Seether cover)

Now let’s talk about the music. As I said, their music is really dark maybe not always with the lyrics but with the sound which emphasize primarily the duo guitar/drum. That sound does have some occasional keys thrown in, to colour the emotion of certain aspects of that music. But even with the presence of keyboards and string, I wouldn’t call them symphonic.

Their singer Aurélie has a really nice voice that she can improve in a melodic way depending of the nature of the song. Sometimes, she’ll sound as in more traditional metal, but you’ll always be able to hear some melodic structures. It would have been interesting to hear her expand her capacity, which she demonstrates on several songs, in some more atmospheric sound, with some symphonic tracks. But that’s just a debut EP, so my hope will maybe reward on their first album.

“Until The End” has solid start with “Lies For Lies”, this song begin with a heavy metal sound but quickly change into something a bit different. Some kind of wedding between a heavy sound and some catchy lyrics, and the result being really interesting. As most of the music is composed by Pierre “Aqua” Brechet the bassist of the band, it’s not a big surprise to hear that the guitar is really present in most of the songs rather than the keyboards or another instrument. But the vocals certainly present that edgy metal thing that may, in some interpretations, recall Evanescence.

However, that dark direction appears in the second track, “Until The End” with that that pounding drum from the netherworlds that set up the crashing guitar and then a vocal that clearly wasn’t designed to work with some pop star from Canada. One of the interesting side plots here is the addition of a male vocal, and even that vocal tends towards an Alice Cooper approach. Here, the male vocal is provided by Loran Saulus who did the mixing and assisted Aurélie with the arranging. But that’s not all, on this song, you’ll hear a piano, and the performer is no-one else than Aurélie. That’s a lot of involvement for one person, and we must salute her artistic capabilities.

There’s some “extraterrestrial” material on the CD, just a little something to get you in the mood for a demonic perspective. “Are You Real?” takes this tact. Sounds like what you get when you enter the Haunted House on Halloween, sirens, strange noises, whispered voices, closing doors. Probably make a great intro to a Hollywood horror movie. But, it leads to one of the more interesting metal tracks of the album, “Nightmare”, appropriate title given the previous one. This one is another pounding metal sound, but the lyrics provide a glimpse into a different perspective, a darker room. It’s then follow by"Silent Room“ which provides some complex musical devices, nicely produced and cleverly delivered with some more symphonic.

Yet, the title that may be the most interesting in the whole album is ”Lilith To Kill“. A great music, another male vocal, this time one of the guitar player; however the quite extensive production makes the most of everything that the band has to offer. For the most attentive of you, you should understand that the talk about Adam, Eve and the real first women, Lilith, not in a religious way, but it’s nice to see that little reference.

The final track is a “bonus” one and is a little different from the preceding titles. It’s called ”Broken“ and again uses the male vocals of Saulus to deliver a fine duet. This one is the ballad of the EP and it’s nicely done. Again, the band shows us what they are capable of, and that’s what we’re waiting for a first EP.

Clearly, the band has a great potential here; one has to wonder exactly which way the band will go with a full album. This EP offers us some interesting metal, with slight variation of style. I’d certainly like to see the symphonic part expanded a bit. And the dark lyrical perspective could prove to be interesting if sufficiently developed. But I’m sure my compatriots know what they’re doing and where they’re going. Until then, these are some really great songs from the French band and I wish them the best as I wait for their album.

Highlights: Until The End, Nightmare, Lilith To Kill