Lycia: Estrella (Out-of-Print)

The Projekt Edition is out of print; however this album is now available in the 2005 Edition.

Escape into the blackness of a nighttime sky. isolation. resignation. helplessness. Lycia comes full circle with Estrella, bridging the recent sequenced orchestrations of their Cold album with the drum and guitar orientation of their very first release. this new album sees Tara handling the majority of the vocals with a style that is definitely more focused than in the past — bringing a new strength and power to the music while Mike’s vocals take on the harsher strains heard on the vane release. A logical follow-up to Cold, this is a very enrapturing release.

Originally from the barren, desert Southwest and now residing in the post-industrial Midwest, environment has always been a great influence on the music of Lycia. Taking the name of a city in ancient Greece, Lycia evokes the imagery of a long-lost mythological landscape. Founded by Mike Vanportfleet, Lycia’s dark, desolate sound has gained the attention of such diverse sources as New Age Voice, Alternative Press and Peter Steele of Type O Negative. Over seven albums, Lycia’s guitar and synthesizer-based cascades of sound andominous, whispered vocals have evolved, with chilling, yet sensuous results. Now prominently featuring Tara’s direct vocal styling, Lycia is poised to attract even more fans with Estrella.

Mike and Tara talk about the album
A vague theme of escape into the night-time sky prevails. Estrellaopens with “Clouds in The Southern Sky”, a song with a theme of watching the swiftly moving clouds, far off in the southern sky -barely illuminated,just after sunset. The mid-point ‘break’ song, “Dome”, is about standing under the star-filled desert sky, in the middle of the night, reflecting on the past and finding comfort in the isolation of the late night. The closing song, “Distant Fading Star.” also has a simple theme . . . watching the last flickers of a bright star disappear into sunrise. Though the name doesn’t evoke a night-time feel, “The Canal” is probably the key song to the theme. The whole idea of what became Lycia was first thought up by Mike nearly seventeen years ago, during a summer of late night ‘escape’ walks along a canal. The mood of this time and place is a key theme to our work over the years, and in particular to Estrella. Once again the old is bridged to the new, with Lycia coming full circle.

On Estrella, Tara takes over the bulk of the vocal chores. The range of her style can definitely be heard . . . from the powerful tribal vocalizations of “Tongues” to the ethereal beauty of “Silver Sliver”. In contrast, Mike’s vocal contributions are stark and harsh; his voice often takes on the tone that appeared on the Vane release from Lycia side-project, Bleak. Tara’s presence on Estrella is significant. Not only has she become the main vocalist, she has also become an integral part of Lycia. The band is now an outlet for both Mike and Tara’s vision. They come from two very different angles and Lycia has become more diverse because of this.

Interesting Points
1 Huge fanbase that crosses gothic, ambient and metal genres.
2 Lycia was one of the first bands to explore the ethereal goth/ darkambient style and consistently receives positive press coverage and heavycollege radio airplay.
3 Peter Steele (of Type O Negative) and James O’Barr (author of The Crow)are among Lycia’s most vocal supporters.