Will the second album live up to the Dark Element debiut from 2017? Will it beat Wanderers? I'm sure the answer for both those questions is 'yes' but let's find out.
Not Your Monster , track number one.
Compared to the debut's first song we have more background riffing and more background in general.
When I heard it for the first time it seemed weaker than the other 2 new singles but reviewing this album I hear it has values of it's own, especially the progressive middle instrumental part adds more complexity than it was present on the previous album. The build-up leads nicely to a vocal part enriched by the heavenly choirs before it all fells silent for the piano solo break before it goes back to headbanging. Definitely more stuff is happening compared to the debut's opener track.
Songs the Night Sings- so the titular track is second on the second album, while it was first on the first album. I don't know if that was intended but it's a fun thing to notice. Absolutely a hit song here and views on Youtube show that.
Basically the 'Omnium Gatherum's Frontiers' for symphonic metal, a genre defining song, one you show to people when you introduce them to the genre or show the absolute best of it. From amazing structure, angelic vocals, catchy lyrics and flowing melody through rich background, cool drum transitions to a fucking bass solo and a screaming guitar solo. Add some electronic sounds to the chorus and you can spin this track alone for an hour.
When It All Comes Down melody really reminds me of one polish electronic music song( C-BooL - Magic Symphony), definitely an interesting case as the song mixes fast intro with slow pace on vocals and very fast guitar solo where Jani goes crazy
I think the outro while cool and atmospheric could be tiny bit shorter, still a great song.
Silence Between The Words has a lighter tone but the lyrical themes aren't as positive as the sound. Less experimental that the last song as as usually 4th track of any album is a little break this also serves it's porpoise.
happily served porpoise
Ekhem, the outro sounds like the good years of Delain. Scratch that, it sounds better with Anette putting some strong emotions, awesome.
Pills on my Pillow [insert old gold Grabbin' Pills meme here]
Always heard but not believed
Not even by me
Ok, this is something I wish Babymetal was more on their last album- disco mixed with symphonic metal/rock but with dark lyrical themes. The most pop Dark Element ever sounded but honestly it's just FUN as FUCK.
To Whatever End is a ballad with heavy focus on Anette's vocals and oh boy does she deliver. Anyone saying "she's a pop vocalist, not a good metal vocalist" should shut up, she can definitely deliver chills down your spine with songs that bring her best performances out. And Jani can defitely help her shine like a confinement beam at the National Ignition Facility in Livermore, California.
Analogy brough to you by https://what-if.xkcd.com/13/The Pallbearer Walks Alone starts almost like a melodic death metal track before going into a hit song filled with lyric repetitions in verses and bridges. While it helps to get the message clear and across I think it's tiny bit too much. Still, it's the 'good' kind of repetition so I'll give it a pass.
Some slight industrial and electronic vibes here and there, very catchy chorus and a good solo help to focus on more positive aspects of the song so in the end it's good.
Get Out Of My Head really stands out since the intro melody is cool but the lyrics are the worst so far, short and weak, it feels like even Anette isn't bringing her A game, especially heard with "is still a rose" line.
But then from 2:35 we have some weird experimentation that would work in a song if the first half wasn't so bad (or on a different song). It doesn't save the general feel that this song is a filler or should be polished a bit more.
If I Had A Heart worries me at first if it's another filler but it has enough oomph behind it with the solo, it's placement, background and Anette's performance that it deserves to be called a good song, even if it's simpler than previous songs.
You Will Learn experiments a bit with the radio voice in the beginning but then it turns into heavy headbang track and finally shifts the lyrical themes from broken hearts to self improvement which is it's highest positive, feels like a fresh puff of air after weeks spent in a small room.
Sadly the chorus is overrepeated a bit in the end (despite being great), but the outro itself is very nice.
I Have To Go is a relaxing closer to this album, sounding like a totally different genre (I'm too dumb to clearly say what). It's short, it's good, heavy focus on Anette and ends without any explosions.
So let's add some!
I'm Michael, maybe not Bay but close enough
So these are the songs that night sings, eleven of them. Could be ten which would make the album better but if Jani wants to add something more experimental than others then who am I to judge.
Jani definitely experimented more on this album than on previous one and added more power, more backgrounds without making it another Cain's Offering album so overall it sounds like an improvement over the first album- kept the catchy stuff we loved and added something new. Also as I asked during the debut review- there are more solos, so my score is higher.
Anette is without changes, still nails in almost every track and To Whatever End really stands out as probably the best song I heard her sing when it comes to vocal performance alone.
When it comes to bass and drums I heard a bass solo so hey, there's that. I didn't notice changes in the drum area, changing the drummer didn't change the sound. I will miss 'the other Jani' in this project but Rolf 'always happy to play in anything' Pilve is always welcome in any band/project.
At last compared to Wanderers it's a close match as both albums are great. But I'll take experimental over sexy boi Michele and tentacle porn anyday. And yes, without context it looks even worse than with.
Final score:
Vocals: 10/10
Guitars: 10+/10
Drums: 9/10
Additional scores:
+ still catchy
+ still complex (more than on the debut)
+ still cool lyrics
+ still great mixing
+ still good song placement on the album
+ overall a good follow up to the debut, lives up to the highly set expectations, like Silence to Ecliptica
- there are some failed experiments and repetitions
- While there's improvement I still think more varied lyrical themes could be good for the project, a lot of broken heart related songs here.
+ Anette isn't from Finland, she's from Sweden. I didn't know that during my first review so now I give her a plus as an apology since the score doesn't matter anyway.
Final Score: 109%. A must-listen to any Jani and Anette fan, definitely a money/time well spent for anyone else.
PS: score for Bass guitar was 9+/10, I just like to joke with bass scores in my reviews since I never hear bass. Sorry I explained the joke, I just ruined it, now Karol won't love me anymore. Which also without context looks at least a little weird.
PPS: back from my 2017 review:
I am so sorry for being a lazy shit, I bet it's wonderful though
I forgot- since there's a small chance Anette/band will publish my extremely weird review on facebook I should write a sentence that summarizes the album well and shows my proficiency in album reviewing.. Uhh, ok, here it goes:
This masterpiece from Finnish Swedish Scandinavian duo Jani Liimatainen & Anette Olzon shows the world that symphonic metal can be something more fun than snooze-inducing, recycled Nightwish clones. It's fun, experimental and Frontiers please give them money for a tour after you fix your warehouse issues of course.
aaand I think I failed. Thanks for reading, You're the best.
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