Femme-Metal Friday: The Dark Element “Dead to Me”

Band photo

Normally when working on these twice-a-week features, I try not to showcase the same bands or artists within too close a time frame, but as the saying goes, “strike the iron while it's hot”. Right now, The Dark Element is a pretty hot topic, and they've already got another video to review, so why not jump at the opportunity? Besides, this is my blog, which means I can make the rules, or break them if I see fit. If I want to write about the new lyric video from The Dark Element, then I see no reason why I should wait for a “substantial” amount of time to pass!

If you read my feature last month on The Dark Element, then no introduction is needed. For those who did not read my previous review, then please refer to said review for further information. To give a very brief rundown, The Dark Element is a project featuring ex-Sonata Arctica guitarist Jani Liimatainen, and former Nightwish vocalist Anette Olzon. Now that you're all caught up, let's move on to the review!

A lyric video for a song called “Dead to Me”, it is too easy to quickly spot similarities between both Olzon and Liimatainen's previous bands. As I am a Nightwish fan, I instantly hear remnants of songs like “Dark Chest of Wonders” and “Shudder Before the Beautiful”, to name some examples. But, as I am also a fan of Liimatainen's other band, Cain's Offering, I hear many comparisons to that band as well. It stands to reason that both artists are so identifiable by their old bands, that the sound of those bands is bound to come out through the music they make together. In a way, it's an interesting insight on what Cain's Offering might sound like with a female vocalist, or how Nightwish might sound if they joined forces with Sonata Arctica.

As for the video itself, it has a gray backdrop, with pictures of the band, along with shots of Anette in black-and-white, singing as the lyrics flash on the screen. I like how she still does her little head-bobbing thing when she sings, the way she did in her Nightwish days.

I am glad this is a lyric video, because when Anette reaches the line “you ate my bread and drank from my well”, it sounds like she is singing “you ate my brain”! I am pretty sure this is not a song about zombies, so good thing I was able to get that misheard lyric corrected right away! Then again, the song is called “Dead to Me”, so you never know...I guess that will have to be one of those questions that will remain unanswered!

For all its upbeat tempo and fast heaviness, this is one hell of a breakup song! I tell you, these “revenge anthems” from today's pop princesses are child's play compared to heartbroken metalheads! With verses like “I wish I could say I wish you the best, it isn't true”, “I won't write you an ode nor confession, not a song but a war declaration”, “you were the harlot of my heart, like a fool I played my part”, and “you're no one, mean nothing, you're worthless, dead to me”, it's obvious that The Dark Element has far more creative ways to tell an ex, “we're never getting back together”!

For more information on The Dark Element, visit their official Facebook page.

Thanks to Dustin Hardman at Frontiers.

Special thanks to Oceansouls of America.