Seems to be that the success of other bands is causing a world of clones throughout certain genres of music at the moment, bands like Queen Adreena and musicians such as Jarboe have to be the inspiration for female vocalists and this has been never truer than it is with Ayin Aleph.

In fact during the opening salvo of this album Katie Jane Garside was the first influence that popped into my mind, but where Katie shows a slight hint of vulnerability in her vocals, Aleph’s vocals just sound like her voice cannot change from whisper/child mode throughout the entire album. While that can be good if mixed in with other ranges of vocal style, on a NINETEEN track album can get repetitive very quickly.

The vocals are the key problem I had with this album, because the actual band manages to carry the album to something that comes over quite well. That being said, it can only be listened to in small doses especially when it comes to tracks such as 'Grey Ashes', 'Alcove Rhapsody' and 'Valpurgis Night' which also contain elements of Symphonic Metal in there as well.

It also does not help that Asphodel from Pin Up Went Down created an album of a VERY similar nature just a short time ago. This also makes me think that the timing of this album might reflect that Ayin Aleph are purely going for the fans of style over substance. "Ayin Aleph I" manages to be an album that can be tolerable yet at the same time that it often overstays its welcome. The fact it’s been four years until the release over here may prove this theory right.

(Extra: Amazon has it listed as a 2003 release AS WELL AS 2007 which makes it the most confusing record in terms of schedule I have seen in quite some time...)