"Hard shreds or very soft tones - everything is possible with" Elysian Gates ". The music of Luxemburg’s sextet is described as very versatile, drifting from aggressive to epic and from excessive to stripped-down. Elysian Gates is currently the most successful symphonic metal band from the Grand-Duchy. Noemie Leer (Vocals & Violin), Sue Scarano (guitars), Guy Christen (Guitars), Thierry Sadler (keyboards), Kim Sosson (bass) and Christian Praus (drums) are rocking the symphonic metal scene beyond the national borders.

 

In an interview with the "Luxemburger Journal", guitarist Christen explains: „We like to stretch the borders of the genre, so Rock or Metal, we do not really fit into a classic musical drawer." The six musicians do not want to fit a niche. The symphonic arrangements, as well as excerpts in progressive fields allow the band to present a broad spectrum of music and thus to incorporate as many of their musical preferences as possible. They follow the tracks of "After Forever", "Epica "," Delain "," Symphony X ", and" ReVamp ".

 

Both guitars, keyboard, bass and percussion form a unit with classical orchestral instruments, playful samples and often also choral recordings. Thus "real" violins were used on the current album, and a mixed choir was pimped to 64 voices. The song lyrics lead the listener from gloomy thoughts about fantasy themes to a critical view on the reality of modern society.

 

Often, symphonic metal bands do star women at the microphone. „With casting Noémie in March 2015, we made a smart move, „says Christen with a view to the current line-ip. In fact, the charismatic singer draws all vocal registers. From the abyssed death-growl to the highest soprano passages, everything is possible in the frontline. This and the passion of the band are always a source of surprise and enthusiasm during their powerful live performances. Elysian Gates is an unusual band for Luxembourg because the local metal scene is strongly influenced by male musicians, which makes them stand out with singer Noémie and guitarist Sue.

 

Furthermore, the band did never shy away from standing up for good purposes, school projects or by writing a Luxembourgish song against child abuse. (So,  "Childhoods End" from the first album "Destination Unknown", turned into the single "Looss mech Kand sinn" (Let me be a child) in collaboration with Luxembourg’s ministry of family.)

 

 

Their most successful and internationally respected charitiy project has been their collaboration with the sea-protection organization "Sea Shepherd", for which bands like "Gojira" or "Aerosmith" already wrote songs. With the release of the video "Northern Winds" and the eponymous song in November 2014, Elysian Gates spread their wings. At that time the Lithuanian singer Jelena Negatina did the vocal part. The video was viewed over 17,000 times, and the song stayed in the top 20 of the iTunes Rockcharts for weeks. The attentive listener will re-discover the song as a ghost track with Noemie's voice on the current album Crossroads released in mid 2016.(Finestnoise/Radar).

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