"Castle Down" by Emilie Autumn from Enchant

"If I had another place to go, would you break me? Is it that you know I have no choice but to rebuild again?"

Emilie Autumn's Enchant album has such a fascinating array of songs, all reminiscent of fairy tale settings and most of them about refusing to let someone else define or break you.

The narrator of "Castle Down" has had her "castle"—her dreams or personality—torn down and broken by someone, but she's learning to be strong enough to stand despite it—"Your words won't hurt any longer." It's a hopeful song, with some lovely turns of phrase.

"God" is referenced once, in a place that can bea easily interpreted as a legitimate plea. ("Where are you when I am screaming to my God // What am I coming to?")

Emilie Autumn's voice is… interesting. It's emotional and rough, fitting the rough emotion of the song. Her style, though—I'm hard pressed to describe it. She seems to combine a few vocal styles.

If she does combine vocal styles in her singing, it would fit the rest of what she does. The song's music is a haunting meld of erratic and melodic—sometimes her voice being the accent, and sometimes it being what keeps the flow going. There're piano, strings, occasional echoes—and wind in the background, like it's flowing over the stones of the downed castle.

It's hard to give an overall genre for the song. Emilie Autumn has a gift for taking music elements that you would never expect to be able to work together, and blending them for gorgeous results. This song has classical, pop, and electronica elements—and that's just what I recognize, sounding closest to some of the filk music I've heard.

"Castle Down" is a smooth, fast-paced song, and lovely. If you only like heavier music or slow-paced music, you may want to pass this one by, but otherwise, I suggest you give it a shot.

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Lyrics: 5/5
Music: 5/5
Vocal(s): 5/5
Overall: 10/10

Check out "Castle Down" on Amazon!

"Shalott" by Emilie Autumn from Opheliac

"I've been waiting… for the day I will surely die" because she, the poor Lady of Shalott, is trapped in her tower, and she's "been told / that I'll die before I'm old." Everyone else can see the sky, can have what they want, "So why can't I?" she asks. Why can't she, indeed.

This fast-paced reinterpretation of Lord Alfred Tynnyson's poem, "The Lady of Shalott", is gorgeous. The lyrics focus on how desperate it the lady is for something she wants, that everyone else can have. She knows full well that Lancelot has no idea who she is, but she's "sick of shadows" and has to get out. In dying, she realizes she's "the cursed one," but she's happy for the release that death will bring for her. The singer, Emilie Autumn, even pokes fun at herself, for her version of the Lady of Shalott says that "some drama queen is gonna write a song for me."

It's a compelling narrative. Sad and a bit depressing with how the Lady of Shalott so craves what she can't have, for some reason even she doesn't know. Theologically, Christians may take issue with her eagerness to die, because she wants to die and doesn't say why she's so sure death will end her chains.

Despite the overall dark story, the song itself is a lovely blend of fast and slow pace. The song sounds like there's minor key tonality, for I find it calming despite the fast tempo. "Shalott" features Emilie Autumn's usual impressive skill with violin, with further stringed and electric instruments. She combines industrial, classical, and other genres in a way that really shouldn't work, if you stop and think about it. But she makes it work. It's a blend that's well worth listening to just to experience how it fits together.

Emilie Autumn's voice focuses on the emotion. She can sound delicate or strong, angry or sad—and she does it all at the drop of a hat in "Shalott." You are with the Lady of Shalott, feeling her disappointment at her boundaries and her eagerness to be free of them, although it means her death. Again, it's something that's worth hearing for the experience.

Overall, an intriguing song that's worth listening to just to experience. It's strange in a way that you likely haven't heard unless you're already an Emilie Autumn fan. Recommended.

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Lyrics: 5/5
Music: 5/5
Vocal(s): 5/5
Overall: 10/10

Check out "Shalott" on Amazon!

"Rose Red" by Emilie Autumn from Enchant

"Rose, Rose, Rose Red—will I ever see thee wed? I will marry at thy will, sire—at thy will…"

After opening with that folk round, Emilie Autumn continues with a song about waiting for a marriage that hasn't come and falling from innocence—and a refusal to change, hide, or compromise who she is. (That refusal is a common theme in Emilie Autumn's work.)

Despite the topic, the song isn't crass. It's built on the folk tale of "Snow White and Rose Red", where shy Snow White gets the hero as her husband, leaving her bolder sister Rose Red with the leftovers. Someone unfamiliar with the flower symbolism for virginity might hear it and be confused by some of the lyrics.

Actually, it's one of those lyrically symbolic and poetic songs that's confusing in general, but that's another matter. They do capture the mood and theme perfectly well.

The melody and harmony both echo for a "wet" sound, melded with violin that's leisurely despite the song's fast tempo. Other instruments blend in, in a mix of alternative music styles that usually aren't put together. Talented singer and songwriter Emilie Autumn knows what she's doing, though, and it works. The resulting song is beautiful to hear, the sound smooth. (She also has a version of the song on YouTube somewhere that's from a live concert where her mic broke and she had to supplement her violin, and that's well worth hearing.)

The singer's voice can range from delicate to sassy, in a way that I lack the ability to describe. It's lovely, though it's been electronically manipulated a tad. If you don't like music that sounds "wet" (echoey), you won't like this song, I'm afraid.

Emilie Autumn also blends her voice into the music, sometimes, which some listeners wouldn't like. It's consistent and obviously intentional, but still. This is one of those songs that you'll probably either love or wonder what the heck it is.

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Lyrics: 4/5
Music: 5/5
Vocal(s): 4/5
Overall: 9/10