FABIENNE ERNI

Most often seen wielding a Celtic harp while on stage with folk metal heavyweights ELUVEITIE, Fabienne Erni has spent a decade building up to this point. "Starveil" is the Swiss singer's first solo album, and from its mesmerizing cover image to the diverse sparkle of its contents, it speaks to a new, creative vision that has conveniently arrived fully formed and ready for action. Broadly speaking, "Starveil" exists in the same twilit world of folk-influenced symphonic metal that Erni has embraced in her day job, but this is a much more refined and distinctive journey through mist-shrouded fantasy realms, with her own musical identity brought briskly to the fore. As with the astonishing "Another Side Of You", the album she released as a member of ILLUMISHADE in 2024, this is a miraculous mixture of heaviness, melody and magical atmosphere, and Erni takes to the role of main character with exactly the kind of lightly expressed skill and determination that fans will be expecting.

It begins with an enigmatic, featherweight ambient intro, before "Sky's Breath" lays bare the essence of Erni's solo endeavors. A beautiful song with sharp pop sensibilities, the maximalist clangor of symphonic metal, and esoteric instrumentation that breathes organic life into what would otherwise have been a big, expensive-sounding production, it is sung with such strength and charm that fans will be salivating by the time the first chorus erupts. There is no mistaking the metallic elements that underpin it and the majority of the songs here, but there is much more to explore than mere folk metal bluster. "Ritual" is a dark, endearingly overwrought power ballad, with huge, tech-metal riffs, simmering electronics and a startling cameo from INFECTED RAIN's Lena Scissorhands. The cross-pollination is seamless and masterfully executed; the combined charisma of the two singers is almost overwhelming.

In contrast, "Stone by Stone" is a more genteel and uplifting affair, with a gorgeous melody that Erni dances around with effortless grace, and a big, radio-rock chorus that hints at vast commercial potential. The title track is even more instantly addictive: strong on folk elements, and redolent of AMORPHIS at their most windswept and wistful, it is simultaneously box-fresh and elegantly old-fashioned. Despite having one foot planted in ELUVEITIE's wheelhouse, Fabienne Erni is a resolute free spirit, and these wonderfully crafted songs coalesce to form a self-contained musical world that she commands with great fortitude. She is in particularly fine voice on "Living and the Dead", which basks in cinematic enormity while also sounding strangely intimate. It is a dazzling trick that she repeats at will, on the ghostly "Shaelun Vyrathi", the bittersweet and tremulous pop-rock of "Forged in Me", and the gently triumphant "Call Beyond Time", which brings "Starveil" to a partial close with multiple, incisive melodies and a thrilling rush of positivity. Meanwhile, the dream-like coda of "Lullaby Echo" provides the perfect conclusion, with more otherworldliness and transformative reverb buoying Erni's exquisite vocals through a final fade to black.

If there is any justice in this world (and there isn't),"Starveil" would fast-track its creator to global stardom. These are sublime, insanely catchy songs, captured with admirable attention to detail and the delicate touch of a veteran. Just imagine what she might be capable of in the future. "Starveil" could be the start of something truly magical.