Time Signature
The most important fight...
Genre: alternative hard rock
Every now and again you come across an album which is really something. This is the case of Norwegian rock act Acelsia's debut album, which draws on both hard rock and alternative rock - and a bit of metal as well.
In fact, Acelsia take the best of melancholic introspective alternative rock and wrap it in hard rocking guitar riffs and heavy drum beats - just check out some of the riffage and the double bass drums in 'The Mender'. This results in an album which is unique, for my money, and, while introspective, also quite expressive. As mentioned, Acelsia draw on metal, too, and thus 'Before the Fall', which is my favorite track on the album (along with 'Blue Knell' whose chorus is brilliant), is essentially a doom metal track, and 'Up On the Roof' also features some doom-laden passages.
In general, the compositions are quite dynamic, juxtaposing mellow parts with hard rocking parts. The overall mode of expression is melancholy, and, I must say, Malene Markussen's voice, which has both power and vulnerability to it fits the music perfectly! In fact, her singing makes the album even more unique than it already is.
Given the melody and mellow passages on the album - and the heavy influence from melancholic alternative rock - this album might not be for everyone. However, if you are into stuff like Coheed and Cambria, The Storm (before they went crap), Mew and melodic hard rock in general, then you might just find "Don't Go Where I Can't Follow" very enjoyable indeed.