Nereids is a young French symphonic metal formation, which had the luck to be present at the 2012 edition of the PPM Fest in Belgium. In an overloaded style like this, it takes a serious amount of talent (or courage) to stand out, and a first draft is still something that allows to evaluate if there’s some potential, usually.

Line-up:

• Julie Mathieu Miniconi -Vocals/Lyrics
• Caroline Vergote - Violin
• Jérôme Tonin - Guitar
• Bernie Plumat - Guitar
• Alexis Salkin - Bass
• Manu Desnoyers - Drums

Tracklist:

1. The End of Wizardry
2. Lament of the Reaper
3. Elevation
4. Dark Sky

The group is not exempted from a few flaws, especially in a production that does not fully do justice to the music delivered by the combo. To be honest, the sound is well tolerable, it’s not a filthy grub, but it lacks a bit of clarity for each element to come out properly, and the singing is sometimes mixed a little too far back. Moreover, we do not avoid seeing some influences (I, sometimes, found myself thinking of Nightwish) but since this is still a first work for the group, it may fade over time. Finally, some clichés are not avoided, especially in the singing part.

Despite these minor flaws, Nereids yet has a certain charm, which gives them a friendly and unsuspected attraction at first glance. And yet, what we listen to is really nice, and the potential is definitely there! But what our French knows is to marry the Philharmonic aspect of their music, supplied especially by the keyboard, with the metal style, for a result that almost approaching the atmospheric metal. This is, in particular, the case of “The End of Wizardry” or “Elevation”, that show us they still have more than one trick up their sleeve, and know how to surprise us.

It also requires relatively catchy songs, and quite diverse. “The End of Wizardry” is really doing very well; it’s really pleasant with the introduction, really cute. Their music is ‘lovely’. This term is surprising, but yet, the charm they exude gives us some empathy for this band, and especially by the Philharmonic appearance well used, or the discrete violin. We feel from them a real desire to do well down there, and that soul into their work is really respectable. If the tunes are not the most salient points, we especially remember the atmosphere, on which we feast. Certainly Nereids knows how to create and make them beautiful and stakeholders. This is not necessarily original, but it’s good where it goes.

Our French friends will be happy to know that Julie, the singer, sings even in the language of Molière in “Elevation”, a song rather touching, not necessarily transcendent, but refreshing, while “Dark Sky”, more energetic, cut a bit from the rest. For the vocal part, the performance of the young singer is quite correct. Her voice does not prevent a few falsehoods from time to time, but nothing serious, because what she does is quite mastered, especially in the more serious tone, and her timbre is like their music, really pleasant. Her lyrical interventions are quite good.

With this self-titled debut EP, the French from Nereids demonstrate that they have something to give, and are not just another unpretentious band, or without interest. Few small efforts will have to be made to really be able to claim a higher rank, but they seem to be on a good way, and Nereids don’t intend to be some kind of musical sidekick. Something that we’ll be able to verify as they will soon release their first album. And I’ll be sure to get my hands on it to give you a review.

Highlights: The End of Wizardry, Dark Sky