Maybe I am just becoming old
and hard to please, but this new album from Amberian Dawn, studio album number five;
"Magic Forest" sounds like way too many bands these days. The safe
confines of the genre symphonic metal with a female, high pitched vocalist is in
my opinion quickly becoming too crowded and too many bands sounds much alike.
Not that this album is bad,
no the musicianship is good, the production is good, their new vocalist is good
and the songwriting is fine. But they do not standout and do not stand a chance
against the very strong competition. Like so many other bands, they follow in
the slipstream of Nightwish, and sure there are some strong harmonies and soli
on the album, but even after numerous spins I still can't pick out anything that
stands out.
The question is, who's going
to get excited about "Magic Forest" and who's going to buy the thing? Hardcore
Amberian Dawn fans for sure, the average metal fan? Not likely...
