Cirrha Niva - Liaison de la Morte




1. October 31st (2:55) 2. Nightwish (8:05) 3. Le Parade (7:58) 4. Nostalgia (10:45) 5. Mélancholique (9:52) 6. Echoes (7:48) 7. The Beginning of… (4:24)

Total Running Time: 51:51

Parades of eerie ghouls and waltzing souls dance in the shadows of the borders between life and death, inviting the unwary to their unknowing doom and the tempted into an inescapable web of dark intentions and purposes that remain hidden to the ignorant eye. An old man foolishly ventures into the realms of shadow in order to rejoin his long lost loved one and enters the web, where seduction, temptation, and much darker objectives treacherously await him. Instruments explore these avenues with solid conviction and defiance, harboring elements of jazz, classical, and all things metallic. Welcome to the gloomy play that Liaison de la Morte is.

Trespassing the conventional borders of standard concept albums, where the plot is carried across mostly by the lyrics and the music covers only the basic emotions or themes of each relevant act, Cirrha Niva's fourth album is every bit the entelechy and detailed characterization of its seven chapters. There is the ghostly waltz introduction of "Le Parade," where the listener is taken by the hand to the netherworld and its ethereal inhabitants while chamber instruments delineate the perimeters of the setting, or the quasi-Middle Eastern groove adorned with sharp warnings of "Echoes," which sees itself metamorphosed into a lucid moment of touching sadness as our main character sadly realizes the folly of his actions. Every actor that steps on the stage, every dialogue that transpires in the plot, and every emotion that is conveyed through sentiment and reaction is brought forth in full aural representation and gala.

The play, however, is further strengthened by an either oppressive or atmospheric sense of gloom that forges ahead through obscure mists and ethereal apparitions, with whispers, screams, and choruses confusing the path to salvation and becoming the very heart of the album. The ambition is soon rewarded with a cinematic flow to the record that entrances the listener and plunges one deep into the crevices of guitarist Rob Willemse's storyline, which in itself is richly adorned with a multitude of supernatural arrangements and orchestrations. It is thus that quite quickly, with its musical lavishness and timing, Liaison de la Morte passes from being a mere album to resembling a living, breathing entity, bringing its tempting darkness to the world and its unsuspecting inhabitants. And when it comes for you, don't run. Embrace it.

-by Marcelo Silveyra

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