Blood of Angels
by Michelle Belanger

An ageless, timeless feel to the plight of the Watcher Angels

This is a remarkable debut!

Dead Can Dance, Loreena McKennitt, Kari Rueslatten come to mind showing that Michelle is an extremely talented singer. One of the most climatic albums of the year.

In the past, noted author and gothic personality Michelle Belanger has utilized her beautiful operatic voice to perform as a guest vocalist for the bands Nox Arcana and Urn. Now, with the release of her debut solo album Blood of Angels, Michelle steps into the spotlight, re-teaming with Joseph Vargo and William Piotrowski to create an eclectic assortment of dark melodies and moving ballads. Belanger’s ethereal vocals blend with piano, harpsichord and violins to produce haunting works. The mystical invocations of "Ella Sheena" are complimented by hypnotic Middle-Eastern rhythms reminiscent of Dead Can Dance. The title track, "Blood of Angels" is a powerfully orchestrated epic with an ominous choirs of layered chanting that features Belanger’s amazing four-octave range, while the final track offers a seductive and catchy dance mix of the Enochian opus "Children of Heaven." Blood of Angels is a captivating debut that allows Belanger to spread her musical wings and take flight through the darkened heavens.

Michelle Belanger is a consummate artist, she's an accomplished author best known for her writing in the book, Psychic Vampire Codex, and she's also one of the founders of the House Of Kheperu, so I'm not surprised to see her doing well in music. On her newest release, Blood of Angels, Belanger seemingly goes for it all in tapping the legendary Goth masterminds Nox Arcana to paint the tapestry to her lyrics.
      Lyrically, Blood of Angels speaks multitudes of mythology and ancient folklore as it's written entirely about the Watcher Angels who left heaven for mortal love. Each of the nine tracks is a journey through the eyes of forbidden lovers who fear nothing except not knowing true love. It's a spinetingling thrillride that opens the doors of the darkest desires of man and angels. Outside of all these enchanting lyrics, Nox Arcana weaves a luxurious soundscape in which one can become lost for all of eternity. Belanger's vocals are extravagant, she has a beautiful Soprano voice that could only be compared with artists like Loreena Mckennitt and Enya.
      If you're looking to venture into a disc that has a fabulous storyline and incredible musicianship, Blood of Angels is an excellent choice. With this disc you get the best of both worlds, as it could be passed off as a New Age release as well as a Gothic Masterpiece.

Okay, at first I didn't know what to make of this album. I only bought Blood of Angels by impulse, but when I listened to it I became hooked to her other songs too (Children of Heaven and Angels Are Weeping especially). To really get most out of her songs, i recommend you look up her songs with lyrics. They're quite dark and beautiful and I recommend this album if you're big on mythology.

Michelle has a great voice, I'm downloading all of her music. I also love watching her on paranormal state, I would like to see more of her!!! Great job!!

A well known expert on the Vampyre community, Author, Lecturer, and now.. an excellent example of vocal skills easily exceeds the gorgeous texture of the mcians and lyrics. That voice is as transfixing as any other I've heard. Well Done M'Belanger.

I know her!!! She's from Paranormal State!! She's such a talented psychic and singer!! I had no idea she could sing.

Wow, I do have to say, Michelle Belanger is really good at singing, first off because she's not one of those high-p annoying and nasaly singers you hear on the radio. I'm looking forward to buying this album once I get more cards! Very lovely album :)

Love the dark music. Really soothing.

Her voice is soothing and flawless, this album is definitely worth a listen or two.

This is an excellent collection of music. If you love the dark world of vampires, and the music you will love this cd up the great work. Paranormal Writer.

This is an album I was keeping an eye out for, and I am glad to see that iTunes finally has it. Michelle Bellanger ha very rich, mezzo soprano tone that compliments the music very well. Dark and enchanting. Very classically influenced. A good buy, to be sure.

I found this album through Nox Arcana, who performed and wrote the instrumental parts of this album (lyrics wer Michelle Belanger). I found it more interesting than most Nox Arcana albums, since, wonderful as it is, their music more of a soundtrack based on a theme (Transylvania, for instance, or their "haunted house" album Darklore Man How this album got to be labeled as "Rock" here in iTunes, though, I don't really understand. Ligeia's Lament: 8/ dirgefull and full of slowly tolling funerary bells and some nice piano. One of the more Nox-Arcana-ish songs on t album. The lyrics depict the death of a woman on her wedding night, sung from the point of view of the surviving The song also features a synthy-sounding male chorus. Downpoint: Michelle Belanger sounds better in the lower her range throughout the whole album. In this song, she hits a few high Gs (meaning an octave above treble G). T would have worked out if some heavy reverb or echo was added to her voice. It would not have messed with her singing ability, unlike all the computerized effects used to fake singing ability today. Auto-tune will probably devel sentience and try to take over the world if people keep using it, so we should get rid of it now, before it does any damage. Children of Heaven: 6/10 Frankly, it was a little bit too long for me. Now I can listen to Loreena McKenni The Highwayman or The Lady of Shalott (go check them out) or Nightwish's song The Poet and the Pendulum (ch that one out too), although I'll admit Tubular Bells (Mike Oldfield) defeats me. So what is it about this song that is long? I don't actually know. Michelle Belanger gets kind of off tune, which is really my only other complaint about singing, but in this song it is not wince-able. The song tells the theme of the album, about the Watcher Angels, w decided to forsake heaven for a taste of mortal love. Ok, the booklet says it better. The song is very grand and so and if you are in a patient mood it can really be quite stirring. Bitter Ashes: 8/10 Certainly a highlight. In its hopele harpsichord-ness, the lyrics seem a bit apocalyptic, and very hollow or empty. Belanger carries off this song with emotion. Ella Sheena: 6/10 (I think). It's been over a year since I bought this album, and I'm still not positive what of this song. Belanger's slightly off-tune singing really works with the very Middle-eastern tinged, yet organ and harpsichord-accompanied tune. It is extremely eerie...then again so are all the songs on this album, with the poss exception of Children of Heaven and Angels Are Weeping... Angels Are Weeping: 5/10 I have to say this song wa probably the lowest point of the album (note, it's still 5/10). The accompaniment sounds a bit like what one would expect to hear in a tavern in Baldur's Gate or some other adventuring game. The lyrics are about, well, a taste of love. I just found the song fairly uninteresting. Widow's Walk: 9/10 Ahhh and now we come to the final few songs quite the homestretch, might I say. The Nox Arcana side of this album surfaces for the last few songs. Widow's W about the lover of a sailor who goes out on a voyage and never returns. “Night and day she watched for him, she and stared out to see...Still her ghost walks the shore, she stands, and stares out to sea.” Most of the song is accompanied by harpsichord, and although Michelle Belanger does get a bit off key, her smooth voice is perfect song...and the next... Forlorn: 9/10 A beautiful and dark piano theme in 3/4 or 6/8 time, whatever you want to call starts off the song. Belanger joins in with her mournful lament of a vampire. There could not have been a better m between Nox Arcana and Belanger's haunting tones for this song. Then we get to the second verse. These few n “...singing these songs to the pale white moon...” are the one and only thing keeping this song from being 10/10. being a half-step sharp is a little hard on the ear. But, once you get past that speedbump, the song flows into its chorus, the male chorus comes in, and everything is ok again. You even get a little organ solo to cheer you up. T there are more vocals, and then an even better organ solo. More vocals, a little more organ. Try listening to this s alone at nighttime, and it's impossible not to be pulled into the perfect gothic atmosphere. Then go watch a Drac movie. Blood of Angels 10/10 To me, this song really ends the album, and the remix of Children of Heaven is just added bonus track, or an afterthought. This song is on the edge of being headbang-able...if you (cough cough) g that sort if thing. The heavy drumbeat keeps the song pounding along with its dark marching cello rhythms. The l are very cool (“We are the twilight and we are the dawn, we are the silence when all else is gone. We are the anci ones, we are the flames...”), and as long as you don't mind the male singer's sounding slightly amateur, the song pretty much perfect. Especially good points are when you can just hear the strings and drums, the point where B does a bit of operatic style wordless singing, and of course...the chanting. “Azazel, Sariel, Koshbiel, Shamsiel, An Sethiel, Raziel, Zaquiel...” I do wish they had cut out just one repeat of this line at the very end...it was a little too Children of Heaven (Club Mix) 6/10 It's more listenable than the other version. I was kind of surprised at first – a N Arcana dance remix? Even though it lost a lot of the atmosphere and emotion of the original, this version is defini dark, and still fits on the album. If you like the samples, you won't be disappointed with the album – and it's far better to get the whole thing, not just a few songs. Thanks for reading the whole review!