Season Of Ghosts - THE HUMAN PARADOX

In 2014, former BLOOD STAIN CHILD vocalist Sophia Aslanidou launched her new project Season Of Ghosts. With this project, the Greek singer sought to create music dedicated to the unseen, and that could be used as a soundtrack in movies. Out of this idea, the concept album THE HUMAN PARADOX was born.

The journey into Sophia's new world of ideas begins with the instrumental track Nothing Disappears Without A Trace and the eerie chimes of a musical clock – sounds taken straight from a classic horror movie. A curious electronic beat and mysterious synthesizer melody also feature. Compared to the opening, Genesis -The Phoenix Syndrome starts more calmly, almost cheerfully, thanks to some playful piano chords. This changes after a few seconds, when a driving beat, strong guitars and Sophia's powerful voice converge to create the album’s first catchy tune.

Noisy and distorted, but still somewhat romantic Time Travellers is driven along by the electric instruments. The chorus is rather catchy and tempts the listener to sing along. The fourth track, Dream; Paralysis, is similar in its instrumentation. However, compared to the chorus, the main melody is more melancholy in tone.

The lyrics of the title track The Human Paradox are rather thoughtful. With its gentle pace, the strings in the background and the arrangement in general, the song is a pure ballad. As for [NE]:MESIS -The Kiss Of Justice, it once more combines energetic electronic sounds with conventional instruments and Sophia's hypnotic voice.

The melancholy rock ballad Beautiful Eternal Things, accompanied at first by a piano, invites you to pause and think. The track slows the pace a bit but does not stint on growls. The song draws the listener’s attention to the important things in life in a very impressive way, and should send shivers down your spine. Next up is Dreaming In The Gray Lands, another instrumental interlude with a very mythical atmosphere - you could even call it ghostly. The Road To Acheron continues this, mythic theme, not only through the portato of the calm, melancholy instruments, but also Sophia's haunting whispered singing.

Quantum -Through The Looking Glass opens with a spoken introduction and Asian-inspired sounds. Shortly after, electronic instruments and a dynamic beat fall in. With Reincarnation, a calm and hypnotic track emanates from the speakers, letting you dive into the dreamy soundscape. Then, by way of There And Back Again, a short instrumental that shifts back and forth between a tranquil harp and dramatic strings over its ninety seconds, this 49-minute journey into the colorful world of Season Of Ghosts comes to an end.

The debut album of Season Of Ghosts doesn’t need to hide behind comparisons to the works of Nightwish or Within Temptation. The twelve songs offer a huge variety of intelligent lyrics and variously rock and electronic melodies. It can be hard to tell which songs guest guitarist MiA of MEJIBRAY appears on, but nevertheless THE HUMAN PARADOX will make you long for more of its catchy tunes. Genesis -The Phoenix Syndrome, [NE];MESIS -The Kiss Of Justice and Reincarnation left the greatest impression on me.

THE HUMAN PARADOX will be released worldwide via Italian label Coroner Records on December 8th, 2014.