Review: Lenore S. Fingers – 'Inner Tales'

LENORE S. FINGERS
'Inner Tales'
MY KINGDOM MUSIC

Italian gothic metallers Lenore S. Fingers are a band that may set alarm bells ringing. Yes they are female-fronted romantic gothic metal outfit which will have fans of Within Temptation salivating. But interestingly enough for this genre's standards, they don't sound as derivative as most of their peers. Musically the band lack the symphonic pomposity of many contemporary acts and instead have a more emotional and progressive edge recalling the likes of Anathema and Antimatter as well as Lacuna Coil and The Gathering (although there are plenty of flourishes of power metal for good measure).

Vocalist Frederica Lenore Catalano doesn't offer up the usual vocal performance you'd expect. Rather than the powerful diva-esque style we've become accustomed to, we instead get a more demure and restrained performance that is far more evocative of the likes of Valenteen, Monica Richards and Jordan Reyne with The Eden House.

Songs like 'Cry Of Mankind', 'To The Path Of Loss', 'Doom' and 'An Aching Soul' are the particular highlights of the album with their impeccable juxtaposition of emotional vocals and progressively-orientated metal backing that isn't afraid to let synths or acoustic guitars take the lead.

There are a few weak songs though, such as the somewhat superfluous intro 'Inner Tales' and the somewhat Lacuna Coil-by-numbers 'Victoria'. But the album does benefit from a very thorough and pleasing mix that really compliments Frederica's vocal style.

'Inner Tales' is a nice change of pace for a genre that is essentially stuffed full of lacklustre clones. The band are going in their own direction, which is admirable, and their début is strong, but not quite as ground-breaking as it could potentially be as the band do occasionally lapse into cliché. Lenore S. Fingers may yet prove to be the dark horse of the genre though if their follow-up is more innovative.

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