Darkly romantic and somber as a broken heart, Left Hand Solution was originally one of those bands whose CDs I see in the store but never knew anything about. Finally I decided, "Oh, what the heck" and picked up their Fevered disc, figuring that for three bucks, how could I really go wrong? As it turns out, I got a real steal here, as Fevered is a wonderful and beautiful melodic doom album that lies in the harbor of sentimental despair and heartache.

Left Hand Solution is a four piece featuring a female vocalist, who, thankfully, does not attempt to be operatic or wail like a lot of female singers in dark metal. Instead, her soft and brooding voice fits the band's musical style perfectly. Mariana Holmberg's voice ranges from quiet sadness to occasional sultriness, all the while never straying from her area of strength to attempt anything she is incapable of adequately pulling off. Often a band's strength lies in knowing one's limitations and not violating that sacred space. The music is not necessarily anything unusual, but it is done with great efficiency. The songs are based around a good, solid heavy and morose guitar riffing style with very little frills being added, such as keyboards or wacked out solos. Rather, the band focuses precisely on making memorable songs that are moving. The opening track "Thorns" is precisely how a band should introduce themselves to the listener. The guitar is very melodic, the song structure is very snappy and the vocals are quite good. More thankfully, when the male background vocals harmonize, there is no generic growling to lower the band to the level of Theatre of Tragedy clones. Some of the standout tracks are the aforementioned "Thorns", the title track, the haunting "Memories (of the Tragedienne)" and "Scorns of Time".

Fevered is definitely an overlooked gem of a romantic doom album. With luck, you can personally rectifiy this situation by tracking down a copy and enjoying this fine album yourself.

Review by John Chedsey

Review date: 07/2000

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