Elysium, that is the name of the third album of the German Rock formation EISHEILIG, whose lyrics are entirely in German. The first thing that's striking your senses is the gloomy green artwork. Depressive yet dream-like it is. No, don't panic, it is not your average tragic fantasy scene, which is another reason why the images look so "close" and "possible", even though they're clearly surreal. Somehow, the pictures remind me of dramatic submarines films too...
The first track Sturm is of a style that you would immediately recognize as EISHEILG: the way they're leading the melody through the song, the (guitar- and keyboard-) sound, the songwriting, and certainly the voice are unswervingly EISHEILIG. Although, there are audible changes in the voice of Dennis Mikus: he sounds a bit edgier now. The special timbre however is still there, a deep, strong and warm voice. Sturm makes a very good introduction to Elysium.
The new album took on some Rammstein feeling (Flug der Möwen, König der Planeten, Märchenreich), but luckily EISHEILIG managed to stick sufficiently to their own style.
You won't find an elaborate winded melody line anymore like in Nebelreich (on the former album Die Gärten Des Herrn), instead the songs turned much more to Rock. So the album is far less soft compared to the albums before.
Elysium is entirely dedicated to water and all that water is or could be standing for. Not only is the complete artwork focused on the liquid element but also the lyrics to a great extent (Fährmann, Flug der Möwen, König der Planeten...) Furthermore, a certain religiousness (also meant in an extended sense, often metaphorically expressed) is still an important aspect in the lyrics, though (again) only one song picks up directly the theme of heaven/hell: Lucifer.
Elysium pulls the listener inevitably down into one's psyche; strong metaphors force you to meditate over yourself, your own values, about the world as an entire building – no matter if you're listening to elegiac pieces or Rock songs.
The instruments and arrangements, meaning music and sound, paint the lyrics in appropriate tonal colors and leave quite an unhappy, sorry picture on your inner canvas, especially Schrei does a good job in that: elegant wretchedness perfectly intonated, accompanied by more minor chords than is healthy.
Morgenrot makes the end of Elysium, a spark of hope so to speak; or perhaps to cautiously bring back the listener from the Elysium-trance. EISHEILIG have definitely gone one relevant step further.