“From Midland And Beyond” is the debut EP from Swiss based HARTLIGHT, a female-fronted duo of vocalist Noémie Allet and multi-instrumentalist Adrien Djouadou. Signed by Wormholedeath Records, the band is being promoted as ‘symphonic metal’ but while there’s some elements of this genre, HARTLIGHT’s sound is much more than that.
“From Midland And Beyond” has four tracks, but all are very different ranging from melodic metal to hard rock to pop and even with a goth touch. And if you think there’s too much genres involved to be good, just listen the EP and you’ll be regarded by a pretty original set of songs.
Hartlight was born in the minds of Noémie Allet and Adrien Djouadou. They both met in the context of music and fell in love with each other. They both share a passion for music, anime, mangas, video games, and games in general. Noémie wanted to write and compose songs and Adrien proposed to do the arrangements and the instruments.
After reading the fantasy manga ”Berserk” together, Noémie had the idea to create a full EP about this incredible story. This context made the duo go into a more metal style with symphonic elements to translate the epicness and emotions of the story.
The linchpin of the four-song EP is singer Noémie, who – based on her clear singing – cannot deny a certain vocal proximity to Adrienne Cowan (Seven Spires, Avantasia). Her voice highlights charming opener “The Merrow’s Chant” and the upbeat conclusion “Into The Realm Of The Elves”, with all instrumentation provided by Djouadou creating strong atmopheres.
“Be Blessed” is heavier with a muscular hook line and cool variations, catchy as whole. Stylistically, “The Eclipse” is out of the ordinary, in that the song chugs along darkly and with a slight sympho flair, but gains a lot of energy towards the chorus. There’s somewhat weird sound/vocals in the middle but that’s part of HARTLIGHT’s originality, and works.
This is an interesting band new band, and “From Midland And Beyond” serves as a strong introduction to the band who is already working on a full length album
01. The Merrow's Chant (04:14)
02. Be Blessed (03:49)
03. The Eclipse (05:56)
04. Into the Realm of the Elves (04:28)
Hartlight – From Midland and Beyond (2022)(EP)
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