After parting ways with Sonata Arctica in 2007, Jani Liimatainen started a new band with vocalist Timo Kotipelto (Stratovarius, Kotipelto), keyboard player Mikko Harkin (Mehida, ex-Sonata Arctica, ex-Wingdom, ex-Kenziner), bassist Jukka Koskinen (Norther, Wintersun) and drummer Jani "Hurtsi" Hurula (Paul Di'Anno). Cain's Offering released their first album, "Gather The Faithful" in July 2009, and all the music and lyrics were composed by Jani.
Considered by some better than "Unia" and "Polaris", only one thing is certain: "Gather The Faithful" is definitely one of the best albums released in 2009. The melodic instrumental parts and catchy choruses awaken memories of Sonata Arctica songs such as "The Cage", "Weballergy", or "Victoria's Secret", and Kotipelto's voice sounds just as great as on older Stratovarius albums. The first two tracks, "My Queen Of Winter" and "More Than Friends" are a perfect example for that. Songs like "Oceans of Regret" and "Thorn In My Side" start with unusual trance melodies, followed by typical, bombastic power metal parts. The title track is an instrumental and includes orchestral arrangements joined together with heavy sounds. "Dawn Of Solace" is one of the fastest songs from the album, while "Morpheus In A Masquerade" and "Stolen Waters" have certain progressive resonances. The two ballads from this album are probably the highlights, "Into The Blue", a typical power metal ballad with a very catchy chorus, and "Elegantly Broken", the last song from the album is the perfect ending, beautiful but unfortunately very short.
You can't help but have high expectacions when you find out that former and current members of two of the most influential Finnish power metal bands joined forces on a new album. Somehow, these guys have managed to combine the best parts from Sonata Arctica and Stratovarius, and to add new elements at the same time, in a way that the album is reminiscent of both bands without copying any of them. Most bands rarely succeed in releasing great debut albums. But "Gather The Faithful" is, without any doubt, a masterpiece.
Review: 10/10
Tracklist:
1. My Queen Of Winter
2. More Than Friends
3. Oceans Of Regret
4. Gather The Faithful
5. Into The Blue
6. Dawn Of Solace
7. Thorn In My Side
8. Morpheus In A Masquerade
9. Stolen Waters
10. Elegantly Broken
I agree this is an excellent album, and it certainly made me wonder if maybe Jani was the genius behind Sonata Arctica's sound all the time. (I hope I'm wrong though... please, Tony prove me wrong! :P) Which is weird, since Kotipelto's voice sounded quite weird adjusted, almost cold and lost within the arrangements sometimes(very classic Stratovarius), and I could have sworn they were written for Tony Kakko's vocals... they seemed to need a warmer tone of voice, but maybe it's because some of them sounded like Sonata songs as well and I'm used to that.
ReplyDeleteA song that caught my attention was Morpheus in a Masquerade, it sounded very Twilightning-like in my ears for some reason.
Anyway, overall I agree that this album is a true masterpiece!
i really dont like kotipeltos voice on this album, he just sounds boring and the songs seem to lack something..
ReplyDeletei can understand other people having a different opinion but there is no way this should be rated 10 out of 10.
thats like saying its the perfect album, if you honestly think that there are no albums better than this one then sure keep it as a 10, but if you like something else more than this you should think about changing the score
There are also better albums, but I rated it 10/10 because I do think it's perfect and that it couldn't be any better than this. Especially for a debut album. :P
ReplyDeleteHave to agree with Unia on this one, excellent debut album, Jani has really produced some pretty awesome songs here,lyrically as well as musically. Hopefully Cains Offering will not turn out to be a side project, will be really interesting to see how they can follow up on this excellent debut (10/10)
ReplyDeleteGood album, but it can't possibly get 10/10, because it's to typical, like... good but unnecessary, plus the lyrics are very weak.
ReplyDeleteAwsome blog
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