HEADLINE – Duality

“I’d rather be dead than deaf,” sings Sylvie Grare on the song “Bereft of the Sky,” from Headline’s third CD titled Duality. “So I want to believe if I had the choice, I’d rather be dead than deaf.”

Hmmm, an interesting paean to the seemingly intrinsic value of music in Grare’s existence. Or something like that. She wrote the lyrics.

Duality starts off with a dark and evocative song called “Exorcise Me,” and if you are lucky enough to get the bonus CD, you’ll get the video as well. The video is cool — until you see Aymeric Ribot running around with a keytar (keyboard/guitar). No matter how good of a keyboardist you are, that is never cool. But the song itself is the best song by far on the CD, and should be well received.

Musically, they are talented, but sound like many bands today that play this type of music. They have toured with Stratovarius, Dream Theater and Vanden Plas, so that will give you an insight to what their sound is about. In their own words: “Headline wants to make their music more direct (while) keeping a progressive mood.”

One thing that separates Headline from these bands is the lead singer, who is female. The best part about Grare’s voice is that she adds ambience to the music without being the focal point of the songs. It is clear by the production that she is not supposed to overwhelm, but instead add harmony, like another instrument. Another good thing about her voice – she never tries to sing like a man. It is hard to compare Grare to anyone, but you’ll hear hints of Chrissy Hynde in the third song, “For Those Who Die.”

All songs on the CD were either written or co-written by guitarist Didier Chesneau. Fans of melodic progressive metal (they even rearrange the famous piano sonata “Clair de Lune”) should find this an enjoyable listen.

Some of the better songs on Duality are “Insanity,” “Farewell” and “Replay.”