Before I began to listen to Sirenia’s newest album Perils of the Deep Blue, I went back and re-listened to their debut album At Sixes and Sevens. I was pretty sure that their first full-length would always be a hard mountain to climb over, but come 2013, Sirenia has proven me wrong and have delivered one of the best symphonic metal albums, if not one of the best metal albums period, for this year. The idea and writing for this record started even before their last album, The Enigma of Life, was even completed. After more than two years in the making, this album delivers a lot of the sound that Sirenia is well known for, but brings even more to their game with a broader, more epic symphonic metal sound that feels new. I can’t say I was ecstatic about much of their releases after their fantastic debut, but Perils of the Deep Blue has been a long time coming for this band, and it truly delivers.

The album begins with a short three minute delicate piano piece that also includes beautiful high vocals from the gorgeous Ailyn. She seems to have gone all out this time in terms of vocals, as she brings a lot of inspiration into the mix. It really shows on the album here, as her performance is outstanding from start to finish. However I can’t just focus on the undeniably talented and beautiful lead female vocalist. Morten Veland as well as the other members has put a lot of work into this album and it really shows. It’s been quite a long time since I’ve heard a symphonic metal album this good and at such a grand scale. Getting back to the music, once the second half of the introduction comes to an end, and a rather miraculous choir is thrown into the pot, the album opens up with their impressive track Seven Widows Weep. Right off the bat, the choirs are simply powerful and overtaking, as they were one of my favorite facets of the entire album. The album is indeed focused on a heavy guitar sound, and relies on many of the symphonic elements to carry the melody which just works perfectly.

After the grand opening steam rolls by, the album only gets better. My Destiny Comes to Pass once again has some dark symphonic choirs and is accompanied by some seriously heavy palm muting from guitars that chug beautifully along. Also the chorus here performed by Ailyn is rather catchy. Speaking of catchiness, the following track Ditt Endelikt is just that. The song takes on a different language other than English to stir things up, as the songs vocals really were a highlight for me. Granted this may sit outside my comfort zone in terms of sound to an extent, it is indeed hard to not come back to this track countless times over. Morten can really belt a tune here just as well as Ailyn which came at a great surprise. Not only does he sing a memorable moment on this track, his growling on other tracks is equally as pleasing. He truly has put lot of feeling into this album, and in every song it shows.

Moving on, we get to my absolute favorite track on the album entitled Cold Caress. The reason being, this song’s choir is so dominant and worth mentioning. It’s dark, commanding, and everything I love about symphonic metal bands using choirs to heighten the atmosphere. It is also indeed a song that focuses on heavy toned guitars, and the following song Darkling conveys that sound once again but a slower pace. Also to note, the synth work is pretty substantial, and really carries the songs well.

The song Decadence might take some by surprise at first. It might sound that the album has taken a turn for a more pop sound rather than staying symphonic, but makes up for itself with some great heavy guitar riffing and drums. I would probably describe the sound as being more electronic than most of the tracks on the album, but it the track makes up for itself with the great rhythmic guitar leads. The song also has a pretty good guitar solo here that isn’t anything I would call a face melter, but a solidly written simple and attractive lead. The album does contain one track reaching well over 12 minutes called Stille Kom Døden. It’s a much slower song than I was expecting for a track with such great lengths but it is still a great track. It may be the song I went back to the least, but there may be more to this song than I was hearing. As the album reaches towards the end, The Funeral March is yet another track on the album I had to come to repeat multiple times. The synths here that open up the track blend very nicely with the guitars and Ailyn once again sings like she knows exactly what she’s doing to make this album something really special.

Sirenia’s Perils of the Deep Blue comes at a high recommendation for this year. It has been a really long time since I have heard a metal album with symphonic influence that really grabbed my attention, and this time around, I’m glad Sirenia’s newest release has come along to fix that for me. Outstanding choirs and vocals, heavy riffing guitars, and great symphonic elements make up the bulk of music here. Not only did this album take me by surprise, it made me happy to once again hear symphonic metal that was worth revisiting numerous times over.