Amberian Dawn - End of Eden

Ever since Nightwish started to achieve success in the late 90’s to early 2000’s, there have been quite a few bands trying to replicate that success.  One such band is the Finnish sextet Amberian Dawn.  With a new album in End of Eden, the band hopes to replicate the success of their fellow countrymen and woman.

From the opening track “Talisman,” the comparisons to Nightwish and Epica seem obvious, as it sounds like vocalist Heidi Parvaianen is imitating Tarja Turunen’s singing with the band’s sound being closer to Epica’s Simone Simons.  However, it seems that Amberian Dawn doesn’t bring any new ideas to the table, as End of Eden is primarily worship of the two bands and not much else.  The last two songs on the album “Virvatulen Laulu” and “War in Heaven” indicate that the band has so much more to offer, with some male vocals balancing out the proceedings and some depth, as the band shows an ability to play slower songs at a proficient rate.  However, getting to that point may be a daunting task for some, as the first eight songs are somewhat typical fare for the female-fronted metal genre.  The keyboard overkill on the album, which is evident when the band goes for solos, is more annoying and takes away from the overall sound.  Expectations weren’t too high, but Amberian Dawn could have done so much more to really stand out on the album.

Fans of Nightwish and Epica will probably find Amberian Dawn to their liking, and based on what is on End of Eden, it isn’t much of a stretch when it comes to expanding horizons.  The last two songs on the album offer a glimpse of what the band can achieve, but too often, the band just doesn’t showcase that enough.  Maybe on the next album, Amberian Dawn will let go of the things that hold them back.

Release Date: October 20, 2010
Label: Spinefarm Records

TRACK LISTING

1.  Talisman
2.  Come Now Follow
3.  Arctica
4.  Ghostly Echoes
5.  Sampo
6.  Blackbird
7.  Field of Serpents
8.  City of Corruption
9.  Virvatulen Laulu
10.  War in Heaven

Total playing time:  44:30

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*Comments:

Reviewer: Peter

December 27, 2010