An Elixir for Existence

An Elixir for Existence is the second studio album by the Norwegian gothic metal band Sirenia, released in 2004. The album follows in the same vein as the previous At Sixes and Sevens, but includes a new female vocalist, Henriette Bordvik.^[2] From this album, Sirenia has been presented as a 4-piece band, with Morten Veland as the only permanent member.

An Elixir for Existence
Cover art by Joachim Luetke
Studio album by Sirenia
Released	August 3, 2004
Recorded	Stargoth Studios, Tau, Norway Sound Suite Studio, Marseille, France September and October 2003
Genre	Gothic metal, death-doom
Length	53:44
Label	Napalm
Producer	Terje Refsnes, Morten Veland
Sirenia chronology
At Sixes and Sevens (2002) An Elixir for Existence (2004) Sirenian Shores (2004)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Metal Storm	[1]

Musical style

Like its predecessor album At Sixes and Sevens (2002), the musical style in An Elixir for Existence corresponds to the more classic Sirenia's gothic metal of their origins, with some elements of symphonic death-doom.

A large number of the songs are concerned with mental conditions, be it depression ("Voices Within"), drug use ("Euphoria") or thoughts of suicide ("The Fall Within"); of course, the meanings of all of these songs are subject to further conjecture.

Track listing

All songs written by Morten Veland.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Lithium and a Lover"	6:33
2.	"Voices Within"	6:52
3.	"A Mental Symphony"	5:25
4.	"Euphoria"	6:35
5.	"In My Darkest Hours"	6:04
6.	"Save Me from Myself"	4:14
7.	"The Fall Within"	6:48
8.	"Star-Crossed"	6:28
9.	"Seven Sirens and a Silver Tear" (Instrumental)	4:45
Total length:		53:44

Personnel

Credits for An Elixir for Existence adapted from liner notes.^[3]

Sirenia

• Morten Veland – harsh vocals (tracks 1–5, 7, 8), guitars, bass, keyboards, drum programming, mixing
• Henriette Bordvik – female vocals (tracks 1–8)

Additional personnel

• Kristian Gundersen – clean male vocals (tracks 3, 4, 7)
• Anne Verdot – violin (tracks 2–4, 6)
• Damien Surian, Mathieu Landry, Emmanuelle Zoldan, Sandrine Gouttebel, Emilie Lesbros – choir (tracks 1–5, 7–9)

Production

• Joachim Luetke – cover art, artwork
• Terje Refsnes – mixing, engineering
• Emile M.E. Ashley – photography
• Ulf Horbelt – mastering
• Wolfgang Voglhuber – photography