There was a little bit of a buzz around Amberian Dawn’s debut ‘River Of Tuoni’ which after a release in Finland got picked up by Ascendance Records. Now still with that label we are onto second album ‘The Clouds Of Northland Thunder’ which I have to admit is a bit of a cumbersome title but then again if you are into this style of music (and it is a bit of an acquired taste) I guess that is not exactly going to put you off. Put simply this is one for those who do not mind operatic vocals, if that idea leaves you shuddering, move on nothing really to see here. I have to admit that the vocals of Heidi Parviainen are probably the selling point of the band as far as I am actually concerned. Musically this borders a bit too close to my dreaded sub-genre that is power metal and if the singer was one of those male, tight trouser crotch grabbing sort of guys that warble along to this sort of thing normally, I would probably have run a mile from it..
‘He Sleeps In A Grove,’ another absurd title, starts this off with a bombastic sort of fervour before the vocals come in and sweep you along in their grasp. The melody here is incredibly strong and rich, akin perhaps to gorging out on chocolate cake, you are aware too much could make you throw! 45 minutes of this album leads close to the edge for sure, I doubt I could take an hour in one hit but the 12 numbers here just about have me lasting the distance. In fact just like chocolate cake it is somewhat annoyingly addictive. There are going to be obvious comparisons to Nightwish (I am sure Amberian Dawn would love their success) but this is perhaps a slightly more grown up and less Disney listening experience. There is a bit of male crooning on second track ‘Incubus’ and Heidi hits the higher trills which I normally refer to as cuckoo song in these sort of things. Luckily she does so in a restrained fashion rather than at full shattering the optics force.
I do have to wonder if the group watch English TV dramas as the opening bars of ‘Kokko – Eagle Of Fire’ are somewhere between the theme tune of The Bill and Holby City’ having said that I can no longer listen to the song seriously and hope this doesn’t ruin it for you. Track 4 ‘Willow Of Tears’ sees the obligatory soppy ballad. It was obvious there was going to be at least one but again if this is a style of music you particularly favour by now you were probably hungering for it. At the other end of the spectrum ‘Shallow Waters’ sets off like it wants to drown you with a mental Galaxian sounding keyboard assault behind it before settling down slightly and turning into a real bodice ripper of a number. Despite the slight condescending tone of this review and the fact that at times songs such as ‘Saga’ layer on the neo-classical cheese by the ladle, I do actually quite like this. There is no faulting the musicianship (hell they’re Finns and born with instruments in their hands) or the vocals and this is a confident second album that should hopefully get the groups name about. The jury is out on how successful the band will be but hell, don’t forget that Metal Hammer magazine didn’t crown Nightwish as best newcomer in their Golden Gods until ten years into their career!
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