Exiled Hope – Apocrypha

Exiled Hope
Apocrypha
Out: April 11^th, 2025
Playing time: 53:28

In recent weeks and months, multi-instrumentalist Sofia Frasz has released various singles from her project Exiled Hope. I took a closer listen to ‘Blood Of The Ancients’.  In an interview, she talked a lot about herself, her music and her project. The musician’s third album ‘Apocrypha’ will be released in April.

The opening song ‘The Summoning’ has something of a Chameleon feel to it. At first you hear calm piano sounds that seem a little classical. Then Sofia’s vocals enter calmly and with a dark timbre. Later on, the song becomes powerful, guitars and drums take care of that. And the singer belts out abysmally evil growls. But she can also convince with clear vocals. The transitions between clear and harsh vocal passages are seamless. At the beginning of ‘The Day Will Come’ you can hear strings underpinned by powerful drums. There are also fine guitar melodies. Sofia’s dark timbre impresses once again. But growls can also be heard again. I already reviewed ‘Blood Of The Ancients’ last year. I’m still impressed by the insanely fast drumming. But it also becomes calm and melodic again, with keyboard tapestries underlining the vocals at times. Later on, the singer is really pushed by the fast drumming. Strings and electric piano open the ballad ‘Dreamwalker’. Sofia sings a duet here with Metal Matt (aka Matthew Cousins). Both voices harmonise with each other. Folk meets Melodic Death – that’s how you could describe ‘Over For You’. The contrast makes it – sometimes calm/contemplative, then fast guitar riffs or even Death Metal growls. Then again beautiful guitar melodies and acoustic instruments. On ‘Altar Of Moloch’, the guest vocalist’s name is Imperator Mortem (aka Brendon Moran). Deep keyboard sounds can be heard at the beginning. Later, the evil growls of Sofia again. And the emperor sounds just as evil. A growling duet. The whole thing is lightened up by clear vocals. But the growls and sometimes hectic drums dominate. ‘The Silence Is Deafening’ sounds brighter at first, with a tapestry of strings and clear guitars. However, the heavy riffs that set in can only slightly downplay this basic mood. Sofia’s vocals sound really beguiling at times. It’s somewhere between a ballad and a mid-tempo stomper, although the growls towards the end really take off. ‘Behold My Shattered Skies’ is rather atypical for the album. Calm folk dominated by synthesiser sounds. Once again, the singer is able to beguile the listener. ‘Deathslayer’ is a real monster song. Firstly because of its length of almost eight and a half minutes. But also because of the varied song structure. The first third is dominated by calm drums and synths. A few vocals can occasionally be heard in this instrumental part. Then a distorted guitar kicks in. The drums boom quickly and growls allow us to look deep into the abyss before the synth carpets and Sofia’s dark voice provide a lot of tranquillity. And in the last part, the song picks up speed in places, with strings and drums setting the tempo. And it ends as it began – calm and contemplative. Sugar-sweet, almost cheesy-sounding synths and hard guitar riffs alternate in ‘Lightborn’. Equally charming and gloomy vocals. ‘Remnants’ is a four-minute instrumental piece characterised by synths and electric piano that tends towards ambient. The calm before the storm. And this starts with brute force on ‘Forbidden Majesties’. Once again, synth strings take centre stage. Sofia Frasz’s dark timbre can be savoured one last time. Alongside growls of varying harshness and high-pitched screams. In contrast to this are quiet and contemplative sections. The changes between these are often seamless.

I described the opener as a chameleon above. But actually, the whole album and therefore the artist is a true chameleon. I have rarely heard an album so varied. And yet the songs sound like a single entity. Sofia Frasz has done a great job in her home studio. I know from the interview that live performances are hardly realisable for the solo artist. Nevertheless, I would be interested to hear at some point how these very complex songs sound on stage. Then, of course, with a ‘big’ line-up.

Exiled Hope – Altar Of Moloch (feat. Imperator Mortem): https://youtu.be/Nk0ruV4Y01c?si=q19aVefzd1quf2mL

Lineup:

Sofia Frasz – all instruments, all vocals

Track list:

• The Summoning
• The Day Will Come
• Blood Of The Ancients
• Dreamwalker (feat. Metal Matt)
• Over For You
• Altar Of Moloch (feat. Imperator Mortem)
• The Silence Is Deafening
• Behold My Shattered Skies
• Deathslayer
• Lightborn
• Remnants
• Forbidden Majesties