AMBERIAN DAWN – Magic Forest (2014)

One album to rule them all,
one album to find them,
one album to bring them all
and in the sorcery bind them…

My very first thought when I hear of magic forest has always been Lothlorien. Qute normal, depending on how much I like ‘The Lord of the Rings’. After the new Amberian Dawn, however, there is a serious chance for this thought of mine to change.

We’re led in the secret garden by the charming Capri (Päivi Virkkunen). Even though I am a great admirer of Heidi Parvieinen and will always consider her the face of Amberian Dawn, the new voice of the power metal band has definately scored some major points in my eyes. Confident, professionally trained and with an impressive on-stage attitude, the charismatic Galadriel… I meant Capri, implements the weak parts in Magic Forest, no matter how small their number is. If there is a faint clause, the singer fixes it immaculately thus reaching that one level of perfection only finnish musicians acquire.

The ents in the forest – Tuomas Seppäla, Joonas Pykälä-aho, Emppu Pohjalainen and Kimmo Korhonen have done their best to create an unbelievable overall atmosphere. In the album there aren’t any nondurable compositions, the incantation lingers in the air, the guitars’ tinging might and the drums’ breeze replace the wind whiffs.
It turns out that in the most suitable moment the most suitable thing happens – the baritone Markus Nieminen takes over the mic in Memorial, redefining the beauty of symphonic power metal. Who said operatic singing is meant only for women?

The sound of the willows doesn’t end with the male solo performance. In Magic Forest Amberian Dawn venture more on quality rather than quantity; the average song lenght is three and a half minutes, but what minutes!
A soundtrack for a palpitating walk among groves real and fictional, this album has something to propose to everybody – perky passages (Cherish My Memory), playful opening (and closing) notes (Son of Rainbow) and dramatic endings (Green-Eyed). There are, of course, further reasons supporting my idea of replaying the effort five-six…teen times more.

8/10