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This is a tough one. On first listen, you can't help but lower your head, repress your anger, and say to yourself: hey, it's just another female-fronted metal album; you can do this. But as the sophomore effort from French act Whyzdom gets under way, it reveals different faces, and becomes rather pleasant. Kicking things off with down-tuned riffs, swirling orchestras, and soprano vocals, it's natural to feel a little despondent. I mean, it is like everything else in the genre, so why talk about it?

Because pretty soon, Whyzdom start to unleash memorable melodies, passionate vocals, and well-crafted refrains, all of which come together for the album's high point, the quirky "On The Road To Babylon". This track is so off-kilter that it sticks out, making you think Whyzdom actually have some originality in them. "Dancing With Lucifer" is asinine but interesting, and "Paper Princess" goes for an RPG-like sound that makes you feel like you're living in a snowglobe. The band flirts with Gothic, Prog and Power Metal throughout this release, never really sticking to one template, which comes across like a mix of Stream Of Passion, To-Mera, and Edenbridge. The main reason people will buy this is vocalist Elvyne Lorient, who is so hot, she could set off a smoke alarm. Despite an uneven mix of material, Whyzdom have real potential in them, which is more than the majority of these acts have going for them.