Tracedawn, "Ego Anthem"

'ego anthem' is the sophomore album of the finnish progressive/melodic death metal band, tracedawn. they are extremely talented and also quite young. 'ego anthem' is well produced (except of course it clips, as all music does nowadays). redhouse, their label, are really promoting these guys (they have 3 videos out, and they've only been around for about 4 years). hopefully redhouse won't pressure these guys into any artificial form. the solos are astounding for their age, though the songwriting has room for maturation.

1.make amends- nice progressive metal beginning later added with piano. the verse and chorus are easy to catch onto but not boring. i'm not really a fan of antti's clean vocals but still good that he uses both clean and growled vocals. guitar solo is on par with premier death metal bands, assuming tracedawn doesn't alter their tracks in the studio

2.part of the wounded- more of a death metal bent than 'make amends'. the chorus is a little juvenile (groupings of 8 sixteenth notes). the guitar solo impresses again. the ending-- a low pitch blend-- is a fitting intro to 'scum'

3.scum- pinched harmonics, thick keyboards, blast beats: 'scum' is a heavy, brutal monster of song. there is a spoken part before the guitar and keyboard solo, which, again, is incredible for how young these guys are

4.in your name- their first single for the album, check out the music video if you wish. it has a catchy chorus. there's a simple breakdown before the solo. i particularly like how vili uses a standard piano setting amidst the rest of the chaos of the instruments.

5.your way is not for me- offbeat main riff that trips you up the first couple times. the lyrics-- about individuality and free choice-- inspire the album name, i'm assuming

6.dirt track speedball- possibly the best song of the album. it's progressive, heavy, and fast. the keyboard and guitar solo are awesome enough to destroy small villages. the lyrics are quite humorous, but with 'dirt track speedball' as its name, i don't think they were trying to be all that serious

7.repeating mistakes- a good song, but at this point nothing different. the chorus is too similar to metalcore

8.brain attack- bass solo intro. i sense some '80s influences in the verse. another bass solo halfway in

9.the forsaken- great great great main melody on the guitar. it carries the entire song and imbues it with a creepy, atmospheric, and astral tone. there is a music video for this song as well (the visuals also emit the tone of the song very well, in particular the ashy, white contortionist). the spoken parts of astronauts again reinforce the mood of the song.

Sonata Arctica, "The Days of Grays"

far gone is sonata arctica's speedy power metal (with the exception of 'flag in the ground'). in short, sonata arctica's sixth album release is more like 'unia' than anything else and they have become more of a progressive metal band by the looks of this album. the lyrics still carry familiar themes of tony, featuring on this album wolves, relationships, stalkers, witch hunts, death, and the x-files. the theme of gray versus color also runs throughout the album, unifying it in a way. tony kakko has gotten extremely crafty at creating addicting and progressive vocal harmonies, and are without a doubt the best part of the album. tommy's drumwork is less progressive than it was in 'unia' but is not anything like his old 'ecliptica' drumming. marko on bass sticks out more as in 'unia'. elias on guitar is a bit of a disappointment. i don't know if he just didn't try hard enough or if tony didn't want as much wankery on guitar, but, in any case, there is little impressive guitar work to be found. elias makes a great rhythmm guitarist with heavy, off tempo palm mutes, but there are hardly any solos, i think only two. henkka, too, has only two solos. what strikes me as odd, though, is that there were plenty of opportunities during instrumental breaks were solos could and should have been placed.

the best moments of 'days of grays' are those that sound like blends of 'unia' and 'reckoning night' (e.g. the last amazing grays). the best songs are, in my opinion, last amazing grays, flag in the ground, the dead skin, juliet, the truth is out there, in the dark, and everything fades to gray. the others are good, but do not attach themselves to you as much. in an interview henkka said the days of grays would be less progressive but darker and heavier than 'unia'. that statement is absolutely correct, and it is exactly how i would summarize the 'days of grays'.

2.deathaura- a song about a witch hunt. it's the longest on 'days of grays' and is one of the fastest and most like 'reckoning night' on the album.
3.last amazing grays- simply a great song, but if only it had a solo!
4.flag in the ground- see the previous review on 'last amazing grays'
5.breathing- a good ballad, with astounding lyrics
6.zeroes- a fun song with a dirty keyboard solo and lyrics about corruption in business and politics
7.the dead skin- a great song, the chorus' vocal melody is amazing
8.juliet- the conclusion of the stalker caleb. a good song, perhaps as good as 'caleb'
9.no dream can heal a broken heart- the second song to have johanna kurkela on it
10.as if the world wasn't ending- the weakest song of the album? tony sings well on it, though
11.the truth is out there- a great song about dana scully's alien abduction
12. everything fades to gray- tony's singing makes this simple song wonderful
13.in the dark- an amazing song. it has a great song structure and progression. the chorus is ridiculously '80s.

the 2nd orchestral disc is a nice addition. 'days of grays' is by far the most symphonic sonata album, so it's nice to hear a full arrangement of almost all the songs.

'days of grays' at first doesn't make sense and my first reaction to many of the songs was disappointment. however, keep listening for a couple of days and soon you'll be humming the lyrics, waiting to get back to your computer/car to listen to 'days of grays' more.

Ensiferum, "From Afar"

From Afar is Ensiferum's fourth release, and it's been two years since Victory Songs.

1.by the dividing stream- standard ensi intro, much like 'ferrum aeternum'. all folk. just waiting for the metal.

2.from afar- the melody of 'by the dividing stream' doesn't carry through as was done on 'iron'. instead bombastic synths open the album. this is far more symphonic than usual ensiferum, something you'll notice throughout 'from afar'.

3.twilight tavern- a decent opening riff and chorus makes for a good old ensiferum song. it's style is reminiscent of their debut album with jari. but what really surprised me were the female vocals found halfway in the song. is that emmi, their new keyboardist, singing? i didn't find any credits to guest musicians, and emmi is listed as doing background vocals which leads me to believe that was emmi singing. pretty cool, it adds an extra dynamic i wasn't expecting.

4.heathen throne- leads in with a heavy, driving riff, just think amon amarth. it appears that ensiferum is making a slight foray into melodic death metal. combined with acoustic breaks, what comes to mind is a mixture of old ensiferum, moonsorrow, and amon amarth, in that order. actually, scratch that. this is ensiferum. they've matured. heathen throne is an epic, though not as good as their previous one, 'victory song'.

5.elusive reaches- a three minute condensation of most things ensiferum.

6.stone cold metal- has a more noticeable power metal slant to it, from the name (and so, lyrics) to the backing trumpets. as if trumpets weren't awesome enough, in comes a lone cowboy whistle and acoustic guitar twang. next up is a honky-tonk piano and snare drum rolls. oh yeah, and after that...banjo solo. yes, ensiferum went there. this song is fun and enjoyable, and i'm glad they don't take themselves too seriously while still not being a total sham like some bands (korplikaani).

7.smoking ruins- a slower tempo song. i don't know, there's not much to say. from what i can hear i like the lyrics and its story. it doesn't push any boundaries though.

8.tumman virran taa- a finnish vocal chant. that's all.

9.the longest journey- a sluggish lead in the intro gives way to a sypmhonic interlude and is later accompanied by the rest of the band. the last four minutes is a slow moving lead, eventually fading to silence. more epic than 'heathen throne', this song demands your attention and patience in order to fully enjoy.

'From Afar' is less folksy and more symhphonic than their previous releases. it is also less accessible. there are fewer catchy riffs, and instead most are slow and drawling. fans of ensiferum will take comfort in the familiarity of the sound while still being able to recognizes signs of growth in the songwriting. for newcomers, i wouldn't recommend this album. 'From Afar' isn't ensiferum's best, but if the best is yet to come, this is a necessary stepping stone.

*trivial note: kai hahto was the drum tech for the recording process

Sonata Arctica, "The Last Amazing Grays" (Single)

Last amazing grays is the first single from the upcoming sonata arctica album, 'the days of grays'.

1.the last amazing grays (single edit)- this is sonata's wolf song for the new album, so the lyrics deal with the death of an older wolf as it passes on leadership to the young ones. the lyrics, along with tony's vocal melodies, are my favorite aspect of the song. musically, last amazing grays sounds like it's from 'reckoning night'. this makes me happy. of note is an orchestral break that sounds like it was arranged by holopainen of nightwish. elias' guitarwork is up to standards, but there should have been a solo during the break. yep, a solo would have made this song perfect..

2.flag in the ground- the main melody was written in '96, so it's easy to hear ecliptica strains in the chorus/main riff. the verse is unia-styled, at first weird, but good once you are used to it. the lyrics are cheesy-- as to be expected--, but they get better as the progresses. the keyboard/guitar solo is classic sonata arctica, but is a little short. if it wasn't for the progressive elements from unia, this song would be terribly simple, but it's not!

3.the last amazing grays (orchestral version)- not much to say, it's what you would expect. i prefer the normal version. midway through the song it sounds like a hans zimmer film score.

last amazing grays has satisfied my curiosity of what 'days of grays' will sound like, or at least of what i hoped it would sound like. it's only two songs, though, so there is still ample room for disappointment. until then, i wait, with fingers crossed, for the new album release.