So right here we have Fall Of The Leafe, a pretty unknown band I had never heard of before. Volvere is the 4th album of this Folk/Gothic metal band. I listened to this a few times a few days ago, and I listened to it again a few times in early February, and once again in late February, just to be 100% about my opinion, and to be honest, I didn't like this album at all. The first thing that struck me upon the listening of this album is the lack of heaviness. But I also dislike the vocals, which sound like an average rock band, and the drums, which feature some of the most simple beats I've ever heard.

Ok, I'll just take the song \"Guilt Threat\" for example. The opening riff is generic and feels quite uninspired, and the simple drum is there. I expected a little drum fill or something of the type before the opening chorus, but nope. The drummer keeps things as simple as can be, and that doesn't please me at all. The riff in the chorus is just an average \"I've-heard-this-many-times-before\" type of riff, if you see what I mean. I mean that the chorus guitar riff (and almost all the riffs on this song/album) does absolutely nothing to stand out of the crowd. But I'll admit that there are some pretty nice drum beats in the third verse. The vocals sound, like I mentionned before, like an average rock band type of thing. The sad thing about this album is that while there are certain parts with some talented riff work and so, none of them show any sign of originality or diversity. In fact, some people may find this album lovely, but Volvere just doesn't do it for me.

There is one lovely song on this album though, a song that impressed me the first times I heard it, and yet it still sounds as catchy and interesting as back then.That song is \"Hell's Silence\" It starts with the aforementionned simple drum beat (but it actually fits this time), with 2 acoustic guitars playing simple chord progressions with nice little catchy melodies. What's so good about that?, you ask. Well, it's one of those songs that you just find really catchy for no particular. Both the acoustic AND heavy riffs in this song show signs of originality, and the vocals don't sound nearly as bad the ones featured on the other tracks of this album.

Apart from \"Hell's Silence\", this album gave me a pretty weak impression every time I heard it, but that's probably because I don't really dig this type of music. I'm sure there's people out there who find this album lovely, but no for me.

Editor notes: This is a reissue. At late 2004 Rage of Achilles felt down because of money problems. In January 2005 Volvere was re-released through FireBox Records with 2 bonus tracks.

[This review was first published on the now defunct scandinavianmetal.info webzine]