Fabienne Erni sheds the protective shield. Solo debut Starveil heads into darker realms

We know Fabienne Erni as a voice capable of leading a crowd or telling ancient stories. Now, however, comes the moment when she stands completely on her own. The singer of ELUVEITIE and ILLUMISHADE has announced her first solo album Starveil, set for release on March 13 – and this is no side project squeezed in between tours.

Starveil is an album that doesn't try to please on first listen. Instead, it builds its own world. It weaves modern metal heaviness with delicate folk structures, cinematic atmosphere, and organic instrumentation. Everything rests on Fabienne's voice – sometimes powerful and dramatic, at other times fragile and painfully intimate.

This is not just a collection of songs. Starveil functions as a story. It gradually reveals fragments of its own universe, working with symbolism, hints, and even an invented language that runs through the album like a hidden thread. It's an album that demands time – and rewards those who give it.

This time, Fabienne isn't playing the role of a "band vocalist." This is her personal statement. You can hear her fascination with contrasts: heavy riffs alongside silence, monumentality alternating with intimacy. Metal here isn't a pose, but a tool. And emotions aren't an effect – they are the core.

The album also features guests – among them Lena Scissorhands on the track Ritual – but at no point does it feel like an ego clash. Everything serves a single purpose: atmosphere and storytelling.

Fabienne Erni's path could easily be divided into several lifetimes – from musical theatre and film music through studies in Copenhagen and Zurich to world stages with ELUVEITIE. That breadth of experience is deeply imprinted in Starveil. This is not a metal album "for metal fans." It's an album for people who want to feel.

And perhaps that's the most fundamental difference: Starveil doesn't try to fit in. It creates its own space.

With this album, Fabienne Erni isn't leaving the bands that made her known. She has simply allowed herself, at last, to be heard completely on her own.