Exit Eden – Femmes Fatales | soundsfromthedarkside

Exit Eden - Femmes Fatales After a long hiatus, female metal supergroup Exit Eden is back with more metallic cover versions and, this time, all new and original songs.

All the way back in the ancient history that was 2017, Exit Eden released Rhapsodies in Black, an album full of well-known pop songs given the symphonic metal treatment. Fronted by powerhouse vocalists Amanda Somerville (various projects), Marina La Torraca (Phantom Elite), Clémentine Delauney (Visions of Eden) and Anna Brunner (League of Distortion), the band worked their way through songs by the likes of Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry and Adele, naturally turning most of them into vastly superior songs. Suffice to say Rhapsodies in Black was great, unadulterated fun. A slab of big, bombastic cheese slotting right into the guilty pleasures category; I played the hell out of it.

I’m sure I’ll play the hell out of their sophomore effort, Femmes Fatales, for the unforeseen future as well. Cutting back the ratio of cover songs to fifty percent, they also bring five original songs to the table this time to change things up and achieve more of an own identity in the process. The departure of Amanda Somerville reduces Exit Eden to a three-piece, which takes away the full-on operatic element she brought to the first record. It’s definitely an important element missing from the band’s sound we’ve grown accustomed to over the years, but after some getting used to it, there’s still a lot to enjoy on Femmes Fatales.

First off, there are the original songs, all of which are good to great. The semi title song comes crashing through the gates and immediately proves that we’re in for a fun ride. It’s to the point, extremely catchy and frankly more pop than metal, but it is so damned infectious you’ll have it lodged in your skull for days on end. The interaction between the three vocalists works really well, all of them playing off each other’s strengths. Run! Impresses with its folk elements and features ex-Nightwish singer Marko Hietala on guest vocals. As was the case with the opening track, Run! is another absolute earworm of a song that will have you inadvertently humming it for a long, long time. Amongst the six original tracks on Femmes Fatales, these two, together with the soothingly mid-tempo Dying in My Dreams are easily the best, without wanting to downplay the quality of the other three songs. Buried in the Past and Hold Back Your Fear are fun, energetic symphonic metal songs whilst Elysium is a really pretty and fitting closer that gives Marina La Torraca a good chance to flex her more operatic muscles.

The other half of the album is dedicated to the cover songs getting the metallic overhaul. They’re all fun, although Femmes Fatales kind of misses a real highlight like Lady Gaga’s Papparazi or Exit Eden’s version of Shontelle’s Impossible. That It’s a Sin can easily be metalized was already proven by Gamma Ray on their 1999 album Power Plant, and Exit Eden nails it here as well. Separate Ways, originally by Journey, is also good but sticks it a tad too close to the original for my taste, something that can be said about Alice Cooper’s Poison as well. Part of what made Rhapsodies in Black so much fun was that the songs covered on it were pop songs to begin with. Making a more metallic version of what’s already a rock song kind of defies the purpose, but that’s my personal niggle. That being said, it’s not unsurprising that Désenchantée (by Mylène Farmer) is easily my favourite of the lot. Already a cracking good song in and of itself, this spruced up version gives Clémentine Delauney a change to shine in her native language whilst the added bombast and big drum beats make this into a real highlight. Alone is good but again doesn’t much differ from the original, but I do love what they did with Marillion’s smash hit Kayleigh. Huge keyboards and some solid guitar work really hit the mark, and Anna Brunner’s raspy rock & roll voice works great here.

Exit Eden 2024

All in all, Femmes Fatales is a smashing good album and is easily my most played album so far this year. The ratio of original songs versus covers is a good one and the way the album alternates between the two makes it flow extremely well. And whilst I have my doubts on the choice for a few of the cover songs, there isn’t a bad song on here. Running a little under an hour, all of the tracks are so catchy, so memorable and so immaculately constructed that time flies by and will have you begging for more, and I’d be surprised if this doesn’t at least end up in my top five at the end of the year.

Label: Napalm Records:

Buy it here: https://exit-eden.com/

Track listing: