Elis: Show Me the Way (EP)

When people form a band and hit the road on tours to bring their music to anyone who will listen there are bonds that form and in most cases the group becomes your extended family. You eat, sleep, work and face the trials of every day living as a unit and you all come to realize that there are just as many lows as there are highs in this sort of life. As a band you learn to deal with everything that gets thrown at you and sometimes you even plan for the inevitable member who chooses to move on to other projects and interests but there is one thing that always will take you by surprise and that is the specter of Death. It's safe to assume that the members of Elis who were rising stars in the Gothic Metal scene never expected that their lead singer, the beautiful and talented Sabine Dunser, would be taken from them at such a young age and in such an unexpected manner. Yet it did happen and the question would be what to do next but lucky for the fans of the band and Metal as a whole they decided to release the masterpiece Griefshire in her memory while they debated upon what their next move would be as a group. When Griefshire hit the streets it was met with a response that I think even surprised the band in some cases and from there the decision to continue on and find a new singer would be the task at hand. Elis would return to their fans as soon as the best fit was discovered and after a few months of searching Sandra Schleret proved that she was exactly who they needed and what the bands music called for.

Show Me The Way, an MCD, takes the signature track and lead single from Griefshire and presents us with their new singer Sandra - and let me tell you right now she is a fantastic fit for the band. Her voice compliments the music that Sabine created so well that one would think that the former singer set this arrangement up from beyond. While we only hear Sandra on the one track I am confident that she will do their other material justice as well and be the perfect addition to a band that needed her skills in order to continue. I am hopeful that most fans of the Gothic Metal type or at least those who flock to the groups with a female front have heard this track as it was one of the best tunes that the genre delivered in 2006. It's catchy, spirited and very difficult to forget once you have heard it. The other great part of this release is that we get three more unreleased tracks that feature Sabine on vocals. "Salvation" is a solid number that has a couple of moments of Dark Growls and they work well against the siren-like voice that Sabine possessed. "These Days Are Gone" is another and it has a lot of the same vibe that we catch on Griefshire which makes me think these were tracks that were going to be used but for some reason didn't make the final cut of the album. A beautiful slow number sung in German comes during "In Einem Verlassenen Zimmer", which translates to "In A Deserted Room". While I don't know the full translation or meaning of this tune I did think that overall this was a nice way to remember Sabine and all that she was capable of doing musically. A two page foldout is included that offers up some thoughts from the band about the release and a photo of the group with Sandra Schleret. With Death comes Life and when one door closes another always opens. Sabine has left us and while we cannot change that we do have her music and her memory and these will never fade away. Elis can now heal from the blows of the past and look into a hopefully bright future and part of me believes that Sabine will forever being showing them the way. Goodbye Sabine, we will always miss you. Hello Sandra, we welcome you and look forward to all that you will bring to the table for this band.

Track Listing
1. Show Me The Way (single)
2. Salvation
3. These Days Are Gone
4. In Einem Verlassenen Zimmer
5. Show Me The Way (full)

Added: March 6th 2008
Reviewer: Ken Pierce
Score:
Related Link: Elis Website
Hits: 2626
Language: english

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