earMUSIC
2013
1. Victim Of Ritual
2. 500 Letters
3. Lucid Dreamer
4. Never Enough
5. Mystique Voyage
6. Darkness (Peter Gabriel cover)
7. Deliverance
8. Neverlight
9. Until Silence
10. Medusa
I've said it before and I'll say it again... When Tarja left Nightwish the talent went this way. Or maybe, in fairness, Tarja just landed on her feet better. Nightwish just hasn't been the same since Tarja left and meanwhile she seems to have a better grasp of how to sound operatically powerful. It's still up to either to make material as good as Oceanborn or Wishmaster again though. I like what she's been doing well enough however and her voice is excellent so this was on my list of albums I had to hear.
Getting into listening to this new effort, Victim Of Ritual starts the album off well and is a perfect example of what I like about Tarja. The music is grounded in a heavy classical influence and if there is one thing Tarja knows, it's how to sound melodramatically awesome. I love the way she rolls out "Victim of Riiiitual!" and projects her voice. It's perfect for this sort of material and brings the kind of operatic power that Nightwish just doesn't have anymore. It's powerful, it has passion, and it's a total keeper. Following that, I also need to point out 500 Letters which is smooth and somewhat more subdued and melodic, but also keeps an element of heaviness and features a vocal performance positively dripping with passion and emotion. This is perfect material for Tarja and she really shines here.
Beyond that the quality does dip a bit with Lucid Dreamer which has an ok sound, but is a bit too sedated and long winded. It's about 7 and a half minutes that just don't have the same kind of energy. Basically, it sounds decent, but it doesn't keep me as invested. Never Enough charges in with some heavy riffs mixed with melodic passages though and has a hell of a powerful chorus so things pick up again quickly. My only gripe with that one is it gets a bit discordant and noisy at the end. Overall though, it is a really good song.
From here on out the album doesn't hit quite the same heights as early on, but there are some good tracks. Deliverance is a more melodic track boosted by some really strong operatic vocals and Neverlight is a heavier one with some edge to the guitar that is also lifted by a great vocal performance. None of these songs are bad and I enjoy everything here to some extent, but I do have to point out that there does seem to be a bit of a pattern with Tarja's solo releases. They start off with a bang and go out with a pew pew. The albums always promise a lot and then kinda peak early. If everything was as good as the first couple tracks this would be an album of the year contender, but they never seem to quite keep up the energy level. I can appreciate some variation and I like some slow tracks, but I'd stick with what works a little more. Those high energy single type tunes work for her and her voice.
Overall, this is another good Tarja album that narrowly missed on hitting the next level. It's certainly good for what it is, but I can't help feeling the band could be better if they kept the energy level a bit more constant. Still, I can say as a fan of Tarja, that this album is worth it for fans and still a well above average release. Really, this brings some good new songs for the live stage and a lot of above average/good songs to back it. That's not the worst thing in the world by any means. If you like operatic female vocals this is pretty appealing.
Highlights: Victim Of Ritual, 500 Letters, Never Enough
Rating - 3.5/5
2. 500 Letters
3. Lucid Dreamer
4. Never Enough
5. Mystique Voyage
6. Darkness (Peter Gabriel cover)
7. Deliverance
8. Neverlight
9. Until Silence
10. Medusa
I've said it before and I'll say it again... When Tarja left Nightwish the talent went this way. Or maybe, in fairness, Tarja just landed on her feet better. Nightwish just hasn't been the same since Tarja left and meanwhile she seems to have a better grasp of how to sound operatically powerful. It's still up to either to make material as good as Oceanborn or Wishmaster again though. I like what she's been doing well enough however and her voice is excellent so this was on my list of albums I had to hear.
Getting into listening to this new effort, Victim Of Ritual starts the album off well and is a perfect example of what I like about Tarja. The music is grounded in a heavy classical influence and if there is one thing Tarja knows, it's how to sound melodramatically awesome. I love the way she rolls out "Victim of Riiiitual!" and projects her voice. It's perfect for this sort of material and brings the kind of operatic power that Nightwish just doesn't have anymore. It's powerful, it has passion, and it's a total keeper. Following that, I also need to point out 500 Letters which is smooth and somewhat more subdued and melodic, but also keeps an element of heaviness and features a vocal performance positively dripping with passion and emotion. This is perfect material for Tarja and she really shines here.
Beyond that the quality does dip a bit with Lucid Dreamer which has an ok sound, but is a bit too sedated and long winded. It's about 7 and a half minutes that just don't have the same kind of energy. Basically, it sounds decent, but it doesn't keep me as invested. Never Enough charges in with some heavy riffs mixed with melodic passages though and has a hell of a powerful chorus so things pick up again quickly. My only gripe with that one is it gets a bit discordant and noisy at the end. Overall though, it is a really good song.
From here on out the album doesn't hit quite the same heights as early on, but there are some good tracks. Deliverance is a more melodic track boosted by some really strong operatic vocals and Neverlight is a heavier one with some edge to the guitar that is also lifted by a great vocal performance. None of these songs are bad and I enjoy everything here to some extent, but I do have to point out that there does seem to be a bit of a pattern with Tarja's solo releases. They start off with a bang and go out with a pew pew. The albums always promise a lot and then kinda peak early. If everything was as good as the first couple tracks this would be an album of the year contender, but they never seem to quite keep up the energy level. I can appreciate some variation and I like some slow tracks, but I'd stick with what works a little more. Those high energy single type tunes work for her and her voice.
Overall, this is another good Tarja album that narrowly missed on hitting the next level. It's certainly good for what it is, but I can't help feeling the band could be better if they kept the energy level a bit more constant. Still, I can say as a fan of Tarja, that this album is worth it for fans and still a well above average release. Really, this brings some good new songs for the live stage and a lot of above average/good songs to back it. That's not the worst thing in the world by any means. If you like operatic female vocals this is pretty appealing.
Highlights: Victim Of Ritual, 500 Letters, Never Enough
Rating - 3.5/5
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