FlowerLeaf

Ladies and gentlemen, I introduce you symphonic/melodic power metal duo FLOWERLEAF. FLOWERLEAF is a product of love and musical collaboration of two well experienced musicians from Brazil, Vivs Takahashi and Marcelo Kaczorowski. Their debut single, “Firesoul” first came out earlier this year (April to be precise) and signaled the kick-off of their musical exhibit. Three months later, a second single came out, “Girl in Pearls” (you might have actually stumbled into its video on Youtube via Youtube suggestions) which became their stairway into the big stage. The two aforementioned tracks are included in their debut album “Stronger” which was released November 9th of this year. The album contains ten strong and elegant tracks, with a lot of back stories. The topics mostly reflect on life, acceptance of reality and the musicians’ personal experiences. All the lines are infused with motivational and inspirational messages. These elements create the personal appeal of the songs which truly touches the heart and mind of the listener.

Speaking about the totality of the album, the album’s strongest foundation is the vocals. Vivs’ voice has a very powerful and theatrical enigma, and her singing style catches the characteristics of gothic and power metal attack on vocals. Imagine combining the voices of Ailyn, (ex-SIRENIA) Tarja Turunen (ex-NIGHTWISH), Sharon den Adel, (WITHIN TEMPTATION) and the most eminent vocalist in gothic rock, Amy Lee (Evanescence) and you get an impression of how she sounds like. However, it does not end with her excellent vocal quality. She also plays with it very well. She could swing from highly energetic notes into a calmer and emotional approach. The way she sings the lines is so majestic, as if it brings the lyrics into real life. Another extravagant and vital part of their music is the beauty of the keyboards. Most power metal bands rely on this instrument to bring magic and life to their sound, and this band is no different. The constant presence of the keyboards is key to the surrealism that the music creates. It also played a major role in the creating the elegance of the songs. And last but not least is the lead guitar. Each of the songs has an equal share of eargasmic guitar licks, may it be a short passage, a solo or a mere riffs. The sound of the guitar is a kind that would remind you about X-JAPAN’s “Art of Life” without imitating it.

Although predominantly symphonic and power metal, the album also showed its diversity with the track “Not My Fault” which featured guest vocalist Mylena Monaco (SINAYA). Just when you had yourself surrounded by a shroud of arcane mist brought by sleep paralysis-inspired and hyper energetic song “Paralysis”, the shiftiness and awesome licks and solos of “Firesoul” and the emotional-slow rock “Grain of Sand”, “Not My Fault” comes in and blows your face away. Unlike the first three songs, this song is heavier by tons. The chuggy riffs of the intro arrived like a warning to a storm which is Mylena and her beastly harsh vocals which would really remind you of SIRENIA and/or NIGHTWISH. Vivs sang the choruses and the bridge which clearly is a smart tactic. The contradiction of vocal styles present in one song is a brilliant idea. Not only that, it was perfectly accompanied by the catchy tune of the instruments and an epic solo!

Of all the songs, the track “Girl in Pearls” has the most interesting back story. According to the duo, it is about a girl that they saw in a wedding. The people there were well dressed, and there was a girl who was with the guests but forgotten in a chair. She looked beautiful in a pretty dress and a pearl necklace but no one seemed to remember that she was there; and she was very unhappy about it. This interesting but rather sad back story reflected very well in the narration format song. They have managed to create a figure of the girl’s loneliness in a first person point of view, putting the listener in the shoes of the singer (as a character) who could actually reflect Vivs herself. The heavy emotions, the dramatic tunes, the intense singing and the heartwarming message of the song are exceptional. No wonder how this song brought the band into the spotlight. This song could be determined as the heart and as well is the zenith of the album.

The shortest entry “Desert Winds” never fell short of beauty. The two and a half minute song could be the band’s equivalent of “When Angels Unite” by PAGAN’S MIND. It is indeed very short, but it is all about catchiness. It has a very catchy chorus and the entirety of the song doesn’t have any high notes making it an easy sing-able ballad. The peaceful vibe of the instruments is what makes the song a perfect lullaby. The album as a whole is a graceful display of symphonic-gothic-power metal. It is a complete package – the traditional symphonic metal is there, the gothic touch is there and the magic of power metal is there. The track “Not My Fault” is a statement of the band’s versatility, showing that they are not only about operatic music, but they can also go heavy and dark. They also have their share of power ballads and a lullaby, which is essential to the genre they play. Lastly and most importantly, the songs in the album are not just for their own sake. The songs has got awesome stories behind it, and sends strong messages to the listeners that you can be Stronger, as the album title says.

What makes everything even more thrilling is that this is just the band’s debut release, and we could expect more material of the same or even better quality. That is also a reason why FLOWERLEAF is definitely a band to watch out for. Metal temple approves!

Songwriting: 10
Originality: 8
Memorability: 10
Production: 10 - Metal Temple

Hailing out of São Paulo,
Brazil, we find female fronted
symphonic power metal duo
FLOWERLEAF, and they
have a sensational new ten
track CD out now called
'Stronger' which runs in at
just over forty minutes long
and is the band’s debut
album which has been
produced by Raphael Gazal
(Pastore, Bulletback).

Flowerleaf are: Vivs
Takahashi - Vocals, and
bassist Marcelo
Kaczorowsky. I have no idea
who else is in the band as
this is the only info, I can find
other than Mylena Monaco
(Sinaya) and Marina La
Torraca (Exit Eden, Phantom
Elite).
The album opens up with the
dynamic ‘Paralysis', and we
are immediately into an
anthemic melodic hard-hitting
power metal ditty. Vivs
Takahashi has a magnificent
voice, and she
transportations the song with
her own style. Saying that
she is reminiscent of Lisa
Middelhauve from Xandria
crossed, Candice Night with
Anette Olzon, and Amanda
Somerville. Next up is the first
single from the album which
is the brilliant and very catchy
'Firesoul', the song is melodic
with passionate vocals and
spectacular musical
performances, As the song
develops, Vivs pulls off some
exquisite vocal performances.
Next up is one of my favourite
songs ‘Grain of Sand', a
gentler piano led melodic ditty

embracing violins with
sincere vocals, the song
picks up pace and ends up
being one of those flawless
tunes that drifts around where
you just end up getting
engrossed in the majesty of
the arrangements. 'Not My
Fault' features guest singer
Mylena Monaco, and here
Flowerleaf fire on all ten
cylinders as they drive into an
energetic guitar powered
symphonic metal nugget, with
additional growly metal
vocals. The band sound great
here. Next up is the second
single 'Girl in Pearls' that
starts off a little like ‘Nemo’
from Nightwish. This is a
finally crafted melodic power
metal ditty with charming
vocals from Vivs. You can
really feel that with this lady
when she sings, it comes
from the heart and soul, she
has phenomenal range and
she knows where to power up
her voice and where to float
in and just let everything flow,
another favourite.
'Tupana' is an anthemic
guitar fuelled metaller again it
has that heavy Xandira feel.
'Rise Again' is another
fantastic fast paced melodic
piece with tremendous
musical work, this is very
catchy with a lot going on,
packing a powerful punch, it
is one of those songs that
you end up getting lost in,
and you can visualise this
going down a storm live. The
melodic 'Desert Winds' is
more laid back with acoustic
guitar, the ambiance released
throughout, gives the song a
more folkish edge, think
along the lines of
Blackmore’s Night.
'The Flower and the Leaf' is
an immense piano melodic
ballad with violins, huge
sincere vocals, another
album highlight, pure
emotion. Close your eyes and

just let the music lure you in,
this should be their next
single, wonderous.
The album ends on a high
note with 'We Will Stand'
which features guest Marina
La Torraca, and is a massive
heavy, and melodic enough
to give Epica and Within
Temptation a run for the
money, catchy, energetic and
hugely entertaining.

Overall everything about
Flowerfleaf checks all the
boxes, from the crisp
production to the songs and
musical performances,
‘Stronger’ has it all, an
essential purchase. - Fireworks UK

En esta ocasión vengo a compartir con ustedes mi experiencia al
adentrarme en el mundo de un dúo que decidió conformar un proyecto de
Symphonic/Power Metal el año pasado, les estoy hablando de Vivs
Takahashi y Marcelo Kaczorowsky quienes optaron por llamar a esta
iniciativa Flowerleaf; ellos lanzaron este 2018 su álbum debut denominado
Stronger que está compuesto por diez piezas musicales inéditas que en total
representan un tiempo de 41 minutos. El álbum fue publicado el 9 de
noviembre, conociéndose antes algunos sencillos promocionales que ya nos
preparaban para lo que se venía con la propuesta completa de Stronger.
El primer sencillo liberado fue ‘Firesoul’, a través de un lyric video el 18 de
abril, mostrando a primera vista una pieza más melódica, incluso explicada
desde el Power Metal, con un estribillo y bridge veloces, más la serenidad
durante los versos; el segundo sencillo que se publicó el 19 de julio como
video oficial, ‘Girl In Pearls’, se distancia un poco de la primera muestra de
esta pareja musical, exponiendo en esta oportunidad una especie de power
ballad que devela el impresionante rango de voz de Vivs Takahashi,
además del cuidado en la reproducción de los demás instrumentos
utilizados.

En cuanto al resto del contenido incorporado en el cuerpo musical de este debut podemos encontrar canciones como ‘Paralysis’, track apertura que nos
enseña la faceta sinfónica del binomio musical brasileño, con un coro sonoro y un puente musical interesante; ‘Grain Of Sand’, ‘Desert Winds’ y ‘The
Flower And The Leaf’ son las otras baladas de este debut, profundas y emotivas, como el promedio de este tipo de tonadas dentro del metal sinfónico o el
power; ‘Not My Fault’ nos sorprende con la inclusión de guturales gracias a la participación de la primera invitada especial de Stronger, la cantante Mylena
Monaco (Sinaya), más un atrayente y portentoso riff que le viene muy bien al disco en cuestión.
Avanzamos en el álbum para escuchar a ‘Tupana’, una canción que hace parte del enfoque del Power Metal que rescata Flowerleaf, cantada en portugués;
‘Rise Again’ contiene elementos del metal sinfónico y del power, es la explicación perfecta del sonido de la banda; el desenlace del compacto se encuentra a
cargo de ‘We Will Stand’, un track con riffs sencillos y directos para los versos mientras en el coro priman los sonidos alargados y prolongados, junto a la
otra invitada de esta placa discográfica, la vocalista Marina La Torraca (Exit Eden/Phantom Elite), cerrando un primer acercamiento a esta banda brasileña
que maneja muy bien esa etiqueta de Symphonic/Power Metal, abriendo una gran posibilidad de atraer una base de seguidores dentro de esas dos
ramificaciones del género que no son excluyentes. - headbangers latinoamerica

When talking about symphonic metal, you could always imagine grand symphonic arrangements, elegant orchestrations and a theatric atmosphere – while in power metal, it’s all about magic and surrealism. These elements are what FLOWERLEAF’s debut album “Stronger” brings.

Having only two official band members did not turn out to be a disadvantage to them as they wrote, played and recorded every single part of the songs with great precision and mastery. There are two tracks where which they had guest vocalists, first is “Not my Fault” which feature’s Mylena Monaco of the band SINAYA, and the second one was the last entry to the album, “We Will Stand” featuring Marina La Torraca. To give you a little bit of an impression of how their vocalist sound, imagine combinig Tarja’s operatic approach witht combined voices of Amy Lee (Evanescence), Ailyn (ex-Sirenia) and Sharon den Adel (Within Temptation).

The ten-track album (being symphonic power metal), as you would expect has lots of high notes, full of energy, magical and simply over the top. They open it big time with sleep paralysis inspired song “Paralysis”, a fast-paced song with a catchy tune followed up by the shifty song “Firesoul” with lots of awesome guitar passages and solos. “Grain of Sand” then comes in with a ballady approach hence changing up the pace by little after the overall energetic vibe delivered by the first two songs. Talking about changing the pace, that’s what “Not My Fault” brings. Right from the chuggy guitar intro, you know something explosive is coming. And then you’ll hear Mylena’s deep growls doing a duet with Vivs’ operatic singing.

Of all the songs, “Girl in Pearls” is the most fascinating one. It tells an interesting (although a bit heartbreaking) story behind it which actually took place in real life. The narration of the story is perfectly delivered with Vivs’ emotional singing and the dramatic approach of the instrumentals. No wonder why this song brought this band into popularity. To complete the package, “Desert Winds” and “The Flower and the Leaf” comes in. These tracks are acoustic and semi-acoustic power ballads with a very gentle and catchy tune, with the former being a pure lullaby. While lying on the closing end of the album, “Tupana” and “We Will Stand” are still likely to be fan favorites.

The album can be ordered on their website at www.flowerleafband.com . Visit their facebook page www.facebook.com/flowerleafofficial for further information. The album excellent and is worth your spending, so you better check it out! - Metaheads Forever magazine