Emilie Autumn - Opheliac (23 tracks) +Album Reviews

So everybody thinks that I'm a f@*%ing Suicide Girl

incubus1 | 11/03/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Opheliac is one of those rare CDs that gets hyped without even being talked about. I live in a town where if you're not on the radio you're not known. Somehow, though, I was insanely anxious to get my hands on a copy. It took a while but all that anticipation was met gleefully with some of the most experimental and dark music I've had the pleasure of hearing in quite some time. Make no mistake, Emilie Autumn is definitely an acquired taste, but if you go in with an open mind then there's no way you won't come out satisfied.

Emilie Autumn, often referred to as the 'Anarchy Violinist', almost has duel personalities throughout the duration of Opheliac. On one hand you have the gentle, even innocent, soothing voice of a sweet girl. On the other hand you have this intense, screaming, hateful girl. When those polar opposites collide it's something to behold. Songs like the title track, Opheliac, and Liar demonstrate those two forces coming together in the most gorgeous ways possible. However, if it wasn't for the thick atmosphere in the background Emilie wouldn't be the same. Sure her lyrics are tremendous and her delivery is dead on, but that almost claustrophobic feel the beats create are amazing and help out more than I would've ever thought possible. Songs like the afforementioned Liar, I Want My Innocence Back, and God Help Me wouldn't be nearly as haunting without the often eery execution of the beats.

Opheliac opens with a nice little introduction before giving way Emilie's distorted vocals and offbeat delivery. For the most part though, it represents the rest of the record well. There's heavy industrial overtones, a lot of vocal experimentation, and an ever-present gothic feel. Swallow shows the diversity Opheliac sports from track to track. Swallow relies heavily on the chorus but the verses don't lack in the least. Liar is the first track that made my jaw hit the floor. The lyrics are extremely deep and Emilie sports an unruly scream towards the end of the song. If you're wanting to get into Emilie listen to this and try to turn away. However dark the title of The Art Of Suicide may sound, the actual song is really quite ingenius. It's almost happy sounding but the lyrics are as dark as the title would suggest.

I Want My Innocence Back is where the CD turns to a significantly darker side. It's one of the shortest songs included but it's without a doubt the most frightening. Think slasher flick crossed with an insane girl. Misery Loves Company has the opposing vocals again and it works just as great as before. God Help Me is another highlight Opheliac has to offer. The piano is prominently on display and Emilie's vocal delivery is unquestionably perfect. Shalott brings to mind vintage Tori Amos, i.e., fast verses giving way to a beautiful chorus. Gothic Lolita has lyrics that are sure to leave you thinking even after the song is over. The beat isn't great but Emilie's vocals are pretty good. Dead Is The New Alive doesn't disappoint when it comes to bringing thoughts of 80s music in it's heyday. I Know Where You Sleep sees Emilie at her most intense. She sounds truly angry thoughout the entire song and the fantastic atmosphere only helps more. Let The Record Show ends the CD on a high note. The vocals play a huge part with part dueling stylings, part sing-along, and even part scorned woman. An amazing end that couldn't have been better.

If you do decide to plop down the chunk of change Amazon is asking definitely go for the Deluxe Edition. Two tracks prove to be worth every cent, the opening Dominant, which contains no singing just awe-inspiring violin work. And Thank God I'm Pretty. It's more hilarious than anything but doesn't leave without making an impression both in the vocals and instrumentation. Don't think that only those two songs are good because the bonus disc gives the actual CD a run for its money.

My favorite songs are Opheliac, Liar, I Want My Innocence Back, God Help Me, and Let The Record Show. Somehow Emilie Autumn has slipped under the radar but she's sure to gain some huge exposure with this release, I'm not talking mainstream or anything, but word of mouth. Opheliac has all the ingredients of becoming an instant classic and if you give it a shot I'm sure you'll come out as impressed as I did. It's definitely worth the 50$ Amazon is asking but, not to take business away from you guys, but [...]. Whichever way you choose, just know that Emilie is a huge talent and shouldn't be slept on. Highly recommended."

Seriously? So good.

R. Tulloch | 05/21/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Even better than I expected. I've not really been listening to anything else for the last few weeks. Her classical training really shows through in the chords and general musicality which makes repeated listens a pleasure.

It's also $%^&in' cool and dark."

Great evolution of EA's sound

No1Crush | Alberta, Canada | 10/22/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a big jump up from her previous CD "Enchant" - that wasn't a bad album at all, but one can sense that Emilie Autumn was still searching for her own voice as she was experimenting with different sounds. Her sound has come into its own on "Opheliac", in which her classical training and compositional skills really shine through her dramatic and theatrical flair. Stylistically this CD is very consistent - EA's influences still show (imagine Kate Bush jamming with Annie Lennox, Ute Lemper, Nigel Kennedy and Kraftwerk at a Shakespearean poetry recital), but she has melded the sounds of these various artists into something of her own. Standout tracks include the title track Opheliac, Swallow, Liar, Misery Loves Company and Gothic Lolita."

Amazing...

Philip J. Alessi | NJ | 01/16/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"First off, I do not listen to industrial or anything really similar to this. I am into power metal and melodic death metal. I heard this girl did the strings on an episode of Metalocalypse and so i figured i'd check this one out. The whole cd is amazing, very epic, emotional, classical and melodic...the girl actually does Sweep-arpeggios on track 3!!! its awesome! Her voice and vocal harmonies are fantastic and i love the few times she actually incorperates screaming into it. If they redid this album with a real drummer, as opposed to electronic drums, it would be a killer goth/power metal album. But overall this cd has something for everyone. Beautifully atmospherical and this gorgeous violinist has some real talent. Especially with the vocal harmonies. I'd look harder for a cheaper version of it though, i got it for 20 bucks on a link off of her website."

The genius has landed

Nicola Jarvis | Herts, UK | 04/06/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I found Emilie through Last.FM and the first album I bought was her classical/electronic violin album 'Laced-Unlaced.' After listening to her original compositions, and her own renditions of classics such as 'Largo' it was obvious she was a very well accomplished classical musician. So what did I expect of 'Opheliac'? Not this, that's for sure!

It turns out that this album is pretty dark, and has elements of... well, I don't know what of! All I know that this album is one hell of a ride. Gone are her violin instrumentals, in with her vocals which range from beautiful, to bizarre, to down right terrible. Terrible in a good way. It appears that she doesn't care much if she sounds good or not, rather, she just wants to get her point across. I should try to describe the sound to you. There is classical violin, acoustic violin, and electric violin, mixed in with heavy beats and electronic mixing. Any authentic sound is probably some form of a string instrument. She hasn't the best singing voice in the world, but it's hardly the point here, she can still sing okay, and she mostly sings straight, but she has some unique vocal techniques and interpretations too. Worth checking out. It's a dark but catchy album. I'm not gothic, or listen to gothic music (the odd WT or Nightwish, but nothing serious) and I'd normally run a mile from anything like this, but it works.

This album seems loosely based around the Victorian era and literature. Considering the connotations of the Victorian Era you get gothic like literature, murder of prostitutes, repressed women, darkness, industrialisation, etc. It's all here. How she conveys all in a sound I will never know, but as a Victorian Literature student, I think she pulls it all off amazingly well.

There are two discs. The first disc is consistently dark. It's about madness, suicide, murder, rape, anger, alienation, death, stalking and the like. The one exception to this is the light-hearted 'Swallow' where you'll be forgiven if you initially mistake it as an early 90's Madonna record. It's very oddly placed on this album, but you won't regret it being on here. 'The Art of Suicide' is another one. It's not that happy, but the music is a contrast to the lyrical content. I understand people may criticise her lyrics, and since they are about such extreme things, it's a little wonder, but I DO wonder if those people understand the point of what she was trying to do, or how much they know about the Victorian period. There wasn't a lot of happiness for the Victorians, especially when translated into history. I think the lyrics are fantastic. Some people may recognise the story (and title) of 'Shalott' which is a direct rip off of Alfred Lord Tennyson's poem 'The Lady of Shalott'. Considering it's my favourite poem of all time, I was wonderfully surprised to hear it, and her lyrical adaptation is altered very well to fit in nicely with the rest of the album.

The highlights of the first disc are definitely 'Opheliac' (Ophelia was a character in Shakespeare's 'Hamlet' and I think it basically means madness in this songs context), 'Swallow', 'Liar', 'I Want My Innocence Back', 'Misery Loves Company' and 'Let The Record Show'. For 'Opheliac', you will hear a song quite unlike you have ever heard before. It's repulsive yet appealing at the same time. She growls in the chorus, and I usually hate growls but it really works for that song. 'I Want My Innocence Back' is nothing short of terrifying, do not listen to alone in the dark. 'Let The Record Show' is sung from a point of view of a murdered prostitute. Although the content is dark, it's mega catchy. Her vocals on the verse is genius. The chorus is proper jumping if you have it up loud. Again, you wouldn't have heard anything like it.

Now for the second disc. There's not a lot here (three songs, two violin, three spoken poems). Put aside 'Largo' and the three poems, which are all okay, I suppose, but not a great listening experience, you have the genius of 'Dominant', '306', 'Thank God I'm Pretty' and the hilarious 'Marry Me'. 'Dominant' is easily the best track on this disc. It's an instrumental with the violin and electronic mixing, it sounds like it should be part of a dramatic film score. '306' carries on from where 'Dominant' left off, it's not as good though'. The next two songs are comical. 'Thank God I'm Pretty' is Emilie's sarcastic gratitude for being pretty, it's not laugh out loud, but will make you smirk. 'Marry Me' is absolutely brilliant. Not only does she sing really well in it, it's also hilarious, and is based on Victorian upper class marriage. I suggest you find the lyrics and read along with the song, as there are very funny moments it. It's light hearted as well and her vocals verge on operatic during the chorus.

The last thing I should mention about Emilie is that she does albums practically by herself. She doesn't have a team of songwriters, musicians, mixers and a production team she does it all herself. She writes, performs and produces everything. She is immensely talented, I hope she doesn't stay in the shadow of obscurity for too much longer even though I understand why she does. I doubt an album like this could ever be widely accepted by a mass audience.

If you want to hear something different, you must buy this album, and do so with an open mind."

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