Elenion – The Symphony Of The Night

Elenion
The Symphony Of The Night
Out: 31 October 2025
Playing time: 01:04:20

Elenion were founded in 2017 by singer and multi-instrumentalist Laura Berenice Piceda. The Argentine-born singer was able to recruit an international line-up for her project, including Brazilian drummer Icaro Ravelo, Turkish guitarist Kublai Kapsalis and Mexican keyboard player Eric Aguilar. ‘Elenion’s music is characterised by the interplay of ethereal, operatic vocals and crushing instrumentation,’ according to the press release. Fans of Nightwish, Epica, Therion, Haggard and Kamelot are intended to be addressed. Eight years have passed since the band was founded, and now their debut album, ‘The Symphony Of The Night’, is available.

The opener ‘Starborn’ introduces the album with piano sounds and an epic choir. But then the drums, guitar, bass and, above all, the orchestration kick in. Epic Metal blasts from the speakers. Singer Berenice Piceda captivates with her cleanly sung opera soprano. On ‘Carpe Noctem’ (in English, ‘Seize the Night’), we hear Argentine singer and bassist Juli Hope from the Symphonic Metal band Abstracted Mind as a congenial duet partner. She also prefers the high notes, but without switching to opera mode. Whether she also supports Berenice Piceda on bass, I cannot say. Here, too, drums and guitars provide a metallic foundation. The orchestration is scaled back somewhat. In contrast, Berenice sings several coloraturas. ‘Conqueror Of The Sky’ begins with a few chords played on the harp, which are soon overshadowed by the orchestration and occasional male vocals. Once again, choruses provide plenty of bombast. This is followed by the two-part Metal Suite ‘The Ancient Devotion’. First, a crackling atmosphere is created in “Invocation”. The singer whispers at times, accompanied only by minimal instrumentation. However, this becomes more and more powerful, like a crescendo. So, it’s more of an introduction to the main movement that follows, ‘The Wild Goddess’, which is packed with orchestral bombast. Berenice Piceda sings in the highest pitches. Fortunately, she manages to do so cleanly without any shrillness. ‘Queen Of The Night’ is an adaptation of the ‘ Rache-Arie’ from Mozart’s opera ‘Die Zauberflöte’ (Köchel catalogue 620). It is sung with the original German lyrics. The singer masters even the difficult coloraturas with ease. After all, she has performed in quite a few opera productions during her singing career. In ‘A Sailor’s Tale’ we hear another guest, Brazilian tenor Drake Chrisdensen (Ruins of Elysium). But first we hear a quiet plucked guitar. Berenice sings calmly, accompanied by an epic chorus. The Piceda/Chrisdensen duet is outstanding and could easily be part of a great Italian opera. ‘Himno A Los Caídos’ is sung in Spanish by guest singer Pablo Arrieta and Berenice Piceda. Beginning with electric piano, orchestration and choruses, it is a quiet Metal song. The short poem ‘An den Mond’ (To the Moon) (poem by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe) is once again presented in the original German words – sung a cappella by a choir and a soprano. At the beginning of ‘The Hunting’, we hear powerful metal orchestration paired with driving drums, guitars and bass. Later, Berenice soars into high registers once again. ‘The Last Dark’ booms metallically, with guitars, hard drumming and powerful instrumentation. Here, the singer sings powerfully over long stretches and mostly not so high anymore, almost rock-like. Even some male growls can be heard. Large choruses provide the epic feel. Alongside the Queen of the Night’s revenge aria, this is probably one of the best tracks on the album. The title track, ‘The Symphony Of The Night’, is a twelve-minute monumental opus in five movements. Nedy Gomez (Abyss Nox) can be heard as the duet partner. The diversity that can be heard here allows it to be classified as Progressive Symphonic Power Metal. However, the metal content here is actually very high. The crowning finale of this album, which is over an hour long.

To listen to ‘The Symphony Of The Night’, you need a lot of time, a lot of silence and, of course, a strong affinity for classical opera and Opera Metal. Because that is exactly what you hear on this album. Grand, epic orchestrations dominate, but the Metal element is not neglected either. The vocal performances are outstanding. Leading the way, of course, is coloratura soprano Berenice Piceda, who fully embraces her love of grand European opera. You can either love or hate the sound. I tend towards the former. But I also understand the Heavy Metal purists who are unlikely to enjoy this oversized bombast.

Elenion – Carpe Noctem (Ft. Juli Hope): https://youtu.be/7gycWOIkcBc?si=ev4JUnwkVxOGPt4u

Lineup:

Eric Aguilar – Keys
Icaro Ravelo – Drums, Orchestra
Kublai Kapsalis – Guitars
Berenice Piceda – Vocals, Bass, Lyre, Whistles, Orchestra

Track list:

1. Starborn
2. Carpe Noctem
3. Conqueror Of The Sky
4. Invocation- The Ancient Devotion
5. The Wild Goddess- The Ancient Devotion II
6. Queen Of The Night (Der Hölle Rache)
7. A Sailor’s Tale
8. Himno a los Caídos
9. An den Mond
10.  The Hunting
11. The Last Dark
12. The Symphony Of The Night