Helena Aleksandre
Angels Don’t Sleep
Sliptrick Records
November 24, 2020
33:00
You don’t find much information about Helena Alexandre’s. No foundation date. One thing is for sure, the band consists of three young women. The founder and namesake is obviously Helena Provinova (aka Helena Aleksandre), a musician and composer who was born in Moscow and now lives in New York. In the email from the promotion agency, the style is described as a mix of folk, rock, metal, hard rock and progressive. The album was probably produced more than one year ago in Step Hatred Studio by Alex Gorshkov, the guitarist of the death metal band Barbarity. But it was only released this year in November.
“I Killed My Fear” starts quietly. Later Vera’s contemplative, yet powerful vocals are underlaid with heavy riffs. A mid-tempo hard rock song. “Где же ты мой ангел” (Where You My Angel) tends towards folk rock. This impression is reinforced by the singing in Russian. But here, too, the electric guitars determine the sound. A heartbreaking, very melodic guitar solo completes the whole thing. The band loves variety. So “Tears Of Rain” is an acoustic, instrumental gem. You can hear the rain and the rumble of thunder. “Tell Me For What” was not originally on the album. But it turned out that this folk song fit perfectly with the other songs. In addition to the riffs, an acoustic guitar can also be heard over and over again. From this interplay of sound lives and exudes a positive atmosphere. “Polar Night” is the second instrumental track on the album. Here, too, the acoustic guitar is in the foreground. This time, however, accompanied by strings. As I already wrote, the trio likes the variety. Here you can even hear it within one song (“You Can Find A Way”). After you hear mostly contemplative sounds in the first half, hard metal riffs are incorporated later. And oh miracle. That’s working. “Ангелы не спят” (Angels Don’t Sleep) is the second song with Russian lyrics. And also, the title song. Folkloric sounds alternate with epic guitar playing and hard rock riffs.
“Angels Don’t Sleep” is an album that especially fans of folk, folk rock and folk metal will enjoy. The three musicians managed to bring a lot of feeling into their compositions. And again and again the sound gives an idea of the vastness of Russia. But tough metalheads should also listen to this album. Thinking outside the box can never hurt. The compositional and musical talent of the three should definitely be appreciated.
Lineup:
Helena Aleksandre – Composer, Lyrics, Guitar
Vera Moore – Vocals, Lyrics
Stasy Short – Guitar
Track list:
- I Killed My Fear
- Где же ты мой ангел (Where You My Angel)
- Tears Of Rain
- Tell Me For What
- Point Of Collection
- Polar Night
- You Can Find A Way
- Ангелы не спят (Angels Don’t Sleep)
