Sumerian Ceremonials: Florence + The Sphinx - A Tribute To Florence + The Machine

OK, but not Florence

Ha, this is now labeled correctly as a tribute. You can see from the previous reviews it had been listed here originally as being by Flo & The Machine, not as a tribute CD. I would have ranked this higher as the music itself while not my taste, is fine. It's the fact that it IS NOT FLORENCE + THE MACHINE that mandates a one star ranking. This is a metal style tribute to the awesomeness that is Florence and her musical partner, Isabella Summers. I would probably really like it if I didn't feel so deceived.

was not clear that this was a tribute album!

Since, there seems to be some confusion on here, I thought I would provide my review of the album and its songs for anyone who might be curious to what exactly it was trying to capture. I think I fall into an especially unique category, since I love Florence + the Machine but I am also a huge fan of heavy, aggressive metal/hardcore music. Basically, a small indie label - Sumerian Records (known mostly for metal, screamo, and hardcore music) put out this release to not only showcase the talent of their record label but to also pay tribute to Florence + the Machine's album "Ceremonials." In the liner notes, they state that they consider "Ceremonials" to be one of the most-inspired albums to be released in the last decade and I whole-heartily agree. The amount of passion, originality, and musicianship that comes from Florence Welch continues to blow me away. I was surprised when I heard about this release because I considered the idea itself to be quite ambitious.I can completely see where some of you that were disappointed are coming from. However, I want to point out that with this album - the similarities to some of the songs are as great as the differences. In this review, I hope to inform fans of these bands already what they may like/may not like about the songs and also, I hope to get some die-hard Florence fans to maybe give these an additional listen (with an open mind of course).1. Periphery "Only if for a Night" 5/5When I saw Periphery were selected for this song, I was immediately worried. They are an extremely technical band. I was worried their technical side would jumble up this song into obscurity. I was unsure what their approach to this song was going to be but they literally did it the right amount of justice. For fans of Periphery already, this song strays away from their heavy side but rises high in melody. For fans of Florence, you'll probably be surprised to hear this song amplified to a more rock form. This is probably the most close to the original song on the entire album.2. Stick to Your Guns "Dog Days are Over" 2/5This is the only non-Ceremonial song on the album. It was originally released by the band Stick To Your Guns before this album was announced. The label decided to put the track on here since it was a Florence + the Machine song originally. I think Stick To Your Guns took the most generic approach to re-imagining this song. Anyone can scream the lyrics to this and make it heavier like they did. Worst of all, they had to choose to cover one of the handful of songs that is probably the most recognizable out of any fan. Fans of Stick To Your Guns will probably think it's just okay and fans of Florence + the Machine are likely to hate it. I can tolerate it but it isn't anything special.3. Ben Bruce (Asking Alexandria) "Shake It Out" 1/5I really don't know what they were thinking with this guy. I'd like to take this with a grain of salt but I just can't. The power in the vocals are not present. There is little to no experimentation either. I even feel like this guy just took the instrumental track and sang over it in auto tune. This is the worst song on the album. I can't even listen to it! I skip over it when I play this album! Fans of Florence will probably cringe at the very first stanza of lyrics in the song. Fans of Asking Alexandria will probably turn it off because they are hoping for something heavier. I am only giving it 1 star because the music isn't completely bad but the vocals are horrendous.4. Darkest Hour "Spectrum" 4/5As a long time fan of Darkest Hour, it has been nice to watch them grow and mature as a band. I think this song is a great example of what kind of band they can be with a little discipline. If you are unfamiliar with DH, they started out as a thrash band that never used clean vocals (because well thrash) but later developed a style that became a little less conventional thrash and more inspired by melodic Swedish metal. "Spectrum" happens to be one of my personal favorite songs off Ceremonials so I did hold some reservations for this. I went into it immediately knowing Darkest Hour would do something different with it. This version really does add something new to it by turning it up into a melodic metal song! The ambiance of the original is even still present in a few places but as a whole, it is mostly abandoned. Fans of Darkest Hour will probably like it (unless you are hoping for a full-blown thrash assault) and fans of Florence will probably appreciate parts of it (like the melodies in the chorus, that still soar but only to amplify when they break it all down again).5. Miss Fortune "No Light, No Light" 5/5Miss Fortune were one of only 2 bands on this compilation that I had never heard of before. Without knowing what any of their other music is like, I went into this completely uninhibited and was impressed! Their version of "No Light, No Light" takes a more rock approach but captures a lot of the same energy as the original. I can't really validate what this song is compared to Miss Fortune's other songs but fans of Florence might actually take a liking to this.6. Fever Dreamer "Leave My Body" 5/5Fever Dreamer were the 2nd band on this compilation that I had never heard of. This song happens to be one of my favorite covers on the album. The song is done quite tastefully and when the chorus hits, the vocals do soar. I love that similarity between this version and the original. Fever Dreamer were probably already fans of Florence when they re-imagined this song. Again, I can't compare this to any of their original songs because I am not familiar with their previous music. However, fans of Florence definitely need to hear this cover!7. Born of Osiris "Seven Devils" 3/5Born of Osiris are great but one thing they have a tendency of doing is being repetitive. I loved how this song built up but once they provide us with one of their trademarked breakdowns, it gets too repetitive. The prominence of the keyboards do give this song a dark tone that works well for it. However, the simplicity of this song, once it is transferred into metal format just shows it's only good for a few listens. Fans of Born of Osiris might appreciate it because it does mostly encompass their style. While fans of Florence, will likely hate it.8. Come the Dawn "What the Water Gave Me" 2/5Much like Stick To Your Guns cover, Come the Dawn's version of "What the Water Gave Me" wasn't really re-imagined as anything more than what the band are comfortable with. The atmosphere that was in the original version is completely gone from this track. It immediately kicks into full steam and never stops. Fans of Come the Dawn will dig it but fans of Florence aren't going to be impressed.9. Upon A Burning Body "Lover to Lover" 5/5So finally! There's an example of a band on this compilation that utilizes their style and energy to show you they can be themselves and make any naysayers wonder what Florence + the Machine could be like. Upon a Burning Body give us a unique hybrid of deathcore and groove metal, making this song stand out as one of the best heavy tracks on the album. They didn't just make this song a heavier version of itself, they made it an Upon a Burning Body song. For those familiar with UABB, you will probably love this and immediately want to get in the pit! Fans of Florence - be warned, this one is brutal to the max!10. Mike Semesky (Intervals/Raunchy) – “Heartlines” (feat. Aleka Farha) 4/5This song is quite interesting because it is complimented with both male and female vocals. This is another standout track on the album as it should satisfy the groups previous fanbase and maybe even extend out into the Florence fanbase. Very well done!11. Dead Letter Circus "Remain Nameless" 3/5This is another track that sees the band staying within their realm of comfort but this one is just okay. It doesn't stand out like some of the other's but it isn't bad.12. City in the Sea "All This and Heaven Too" 4/5Another great re-imaging here. This song has depth and goes places. Which is what I really love about Florence + the Machine. I don't see this one extending the olive branch over into simply Florence fans but I think people can appreciate that this song does try to capture the energy of the original.Overall, I like this album. There's only one turd here and two other songs that are really just not my thing because they don't strike me as creative. Florence + the Machine are crazy talented and have a lot of variety when it comes to instrumentation and arrangement of their music, I feel every artist on this compilation needed to take that into consideration. Simply making a Florence song heavy doesn't take a lot of effort. Before being over-critical of this album, take the time to appreciate how ambitious of an effort this really is (from a small label at that) and that some of these bands never once would have tried something like this.

This is NOT A FLORENCE AND THE MACHINE CD. This is some bul(s*** tribute that was not marked as such and I will be asking for a refund on this!!!!

it literally says a tribute on the cover. Hahahahahaha. Learn to read.

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