CD Info

2012

Spinefarm Records / Finland

10 Tracks

English Lyrics

There’s a gold standard to Gothic music, or Female Fronted, or Symphonic Operatic Gothic or whatever you want to call it. We wrote an article here a year or two ago on that topic; suggested the 11 most famous bands in the genre. You’ll notice that Amberian Dawn isn’t on that list. But, at that point, they only had one or two productions out, this is their 4th, and it didn’t take them much time to get them out. I’ve been a big fan for a long time, although this is the first production I’ve actually owned in its entirety. So, I’m not an expert on the entire catalog. But, I’ve never heard anything by the band that I didn’t like. They’re from Finland, of course; we get so much solid material from that small population of eternal night dwellers. So, when this review dropped in my lap, I snapped it up. And, it certainly hasn’t disappointed. If they’re not on the gold standard list, they’re damn sure getting close. I’ve tried to do a little research, see what others are saying about this work and you get some interesting reactions. Not all are entirely positive, seems that some object to the level of consistency in the musical style. But, you know, I’m not sure I understand that objection. I was into Lynyrd Skynyrd from the first to the last, and I mean the latest release, they’re still cranking out some solid material, and there is a degree of consistency to their music as well, over a lot of years. Now I understand that FreeBird was a certain deviation, and was at one point the highest rated song in history (replacing White Christmas as I recall), but that didn’t mean they tried rap next, thank god. (Oh, and on a personal note, yours truly actually spent some quality time pickin’ that red axe Prince Charmin’s slidin’ on in this video) If you have a formula that works you don’t deviate too far from it. However this work does present some new and innovative directions beyond what the band has produced in the past. For instance, there’s some choral work, utilizing some interesting professional operatic singers, often tied to some orchestral work. There’s also some significant guest appearances which add to the musical quality and, IMO, enhance that direction in some really solid ways. But, at the very least, what we get is some of the finest Symphonic Gothic you’re likely to come across from anyone, with one of the finest vocalists in the genre. Obviously, you can’t go too far wrong with this, or any Amberian Dawn material.

I’d be remiss not to point to the fine interview published with Tuomas Seppala conducted by SC staff writer Robin Stryker. If you’re looking for personal insight into the material, that’s the place to get it. Some interesting observations as to where the music came from and who worked on the production. Clearly, the vocals and the music are separate domains with Seppala taking the lead with the music while vocalist Heidi Parviainen penned the lyrics. But, the talent doesn’t stop with the core group of musicians, strong as they are. The big addition, of course, is Timo Kotipelto of Stratovarius fame who contributes in a big way on Cold Kiss. Yea, that’s the one with the hot vampires, the big video from the CD and any time those two want to neck with me it’s OK on my end. Hell, I was married to a Transylvanian for 20 years, what’s one more vampire, long as she doesn’t take the house again. As is often the case with these major acts, the label went to some effort to find interesting ways to promote the CD, here in a video that introduces the music and the players. Clearly, this is a bit bigger sound than what we encountered in previous efforts; orchestration, that choir and those guest musicians. Personally, I just can’t see how that hurts their music. Yea, maybe an epic oriented track might be an interesting novelty, but, with the number of releases they put out, that could happen before the end of this year on the next release. And, with the availability of musical talent in the neighborhood I wouldn’t be surprised to see Tarja sharing lead vocals on the next release, maybe with Nightwish helping out with background instrumental. Ok, maybe that’s a stretch, time to put away the psychotropics for a while. But I was really enjoying myself.

This is actually one of those CDs where you could focus on each song. To my way of thinking, there is that level of diversity. Of course, some have bitched that there’s too much "symphonic" but, dude, when you’re a "Symphonic operatic" style band, you tend to get that sort of music. What were you expecting, Country Western? The CD begins with Circus Black which is, in my limited understanding, a more traditional sound for the band, but with some additional background music from the choral and orchestral components. And, is it just me or does that CD cover remind you of another recent release from a Finish band not too many months ago, just wondering. The second cut is the afore mentioned Cold Kiss with Timo and Heidi trading lines, I mean lyrics. It’s difficult to match Timo in the vocal department but Heidi is clearly up to the task.

One of the finest examples of deviation from a core sound on the CD has to be Charnel’s Ball. We do get that circus sound on occasion that seems to flow through several tracks but the vocals, both Heidi and the choir, deliver at a level that is simply astounding. And lyrically, we aren’t disappointed; this takes us in the Gothic direction full bore:

Damn, don’t get much better than that, and the sound matches the story perfectly.

I Share with You This Dream is another one that must be addressed. This one uses more guest vocals, here Tuomas Nieminen and Nils Nordling. The song is clearly structured for multiple vocal lines and Heidi actually takes a bit of a back seat to the two solid male vocals. There’s a lot of vocal harmony with Heidi and the male vocals formulating some outstanding music together, vocally, this is a highlight of the CD.

And, as we’re on the subject of guest musicians we need to mention Crimson Flower,  where our guest is Jens Johansson whose previous assignments include Stratovarius, Dio and Yngwie Malmsteen, the ultimate KING of guitar based metal. This one harkens back to the lyrical direction often found in previous AD releases, but delivered over a blistering keyboard duel between Johansson and Seppala. I know many like the fantasy based story, I’m rather ambivalent on the subject, but it’s clearly a focus here:

Yngwie Malmsteen also influenced the development of the fully instrumental track The Rivalry between Good and Evil …a long time ago. There’s an interesting discussion of this history in the Robin Styker interview listed above. Again, a certain deviation from the norm that flies in the face of that "overly consistent" description applied by some.

Amberian Dawn presents a style of music that, were I to come clean, is presently my most highly appreciated style of metal. So, no problem pleasing this old metal head, especially given the overall technical and creative level of excellence this release presents. And now it’s time to get back to my psychotropics and picture the band with Tarja and Heidi trading licks over a large supporting cast, somewhere in the darkness of a Finnish forest. Ahh, the dreams.. . . . .

9.5 / 10

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