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|| Artist......: Marko Hietala ||
|| Album.......: Roses from the Deep ||
|| Year........: 2025 ||
|| ||
|| Genre.......: Metal ||
|| Label.......: Nuclear Blast Records ||
|| ||
|| Source......: WEB (24bit) ||
|| Encoder.....: libFLAC ||
|| Bitrate.....: 2849kbps avg. ||
|| F.Rate......: 96.0kHz ||
|| ||
|| Playtime....: 00:58:13 / 1247.6MB ||
|| R.Date......: 2025-02-06 ||
|| S.Date......: 2025-02-07 ||
|| Website.....: http://play.qobuz.com/album/z60nk6r4qyo5b ||
|| ||
|| ||
|| 01. Frankenstein's Wife 5:25 ||
|| 02. Left on Mars 5:01 ||
|| 03. Proud Whore 5:02 ||
|| 04. Two Soldiers 4:50 ||
|| 05. The Dragon Must Die 8:12 ||
|| 06. The Devil You Know 4:23 ||
|| 07. Rebel of the North 4:00 ||
|| 08. Impatient Zero 5:59 ||
|| 09. Tammikuu 4:34 ||
|| 10. Roses from the Deep 6:31 ||
|| 11. Impatient Zero (Edit) 4:16 ||
|| ||
|| ||
|| Marko Hietala doesnÆt need much of an introduction. Active in ||
|| the Finnish metal scene since 1982 and in the international ||
|| scene since 2001, his distinctive singing voice, expansive ||
|| songwriting, and ôwe donÆt need a second guitarist because I ||
|| have this thingö approach to playing bass set him apart from a ||
|| great many musicians. Since departing Nightwish in 2021, heÆs ||
|| reconnected with several past projects, from Raskasta Joulua to ||
|| Northern Kings to Tarotùand then back to his own solo work. ||
|| Roses from the Deep marks HietalaÆs return to his own ||
|| songwriting, following 2019Æs Mustan sydΣmen rovio. Joined by ||
|| Tuomas WΣin÷lΣ (guitars, Kotipelto), Anssi NykΣnen (drums), and ||
|| Vili Ollila (keys, Northern Kings and Raskasta Joulua), ||
|| HietalaÆs sophomore solo comes with a whole lot of talentà and ||
|| very high expectations too. ||
|| ||
|| Of course, the reason for those high expectations is simple: ||
|| Marko Hietala is a gifted, experienced musician, so it should ||
|| come as no surprise that Roses from the Deep is a confident ||
|| album with varied influences. Across ten songs and fifty-four ||
|| minutes, Roses from the Deep treads traditional and symphonic ||
|| metal territories, with folk and orchestral influences ||
|| generously scattered in. Most of the choruses are huge, ||
|| bombastic, get-stuck-in-your-head-forever types, with ||
|| ôFrankensteinÆs Wifeö and ôProud Whoreö having the catchiest of ||
|| the bunch. The riffs are loud and nearly as catchy, with songs ||
|| like ôDragon Must Dieö and, especially, ôRebel of the Northö ||
|| enhancing HietalaÆs heaviest of singing styles. Then, in the ||
|| breaks between the bangers, Roses from the Deep offers somber, ||
|| acoustic-orchestral songs in the title track and the ||
|| beautifully earnest ôTwo Soldiers.ö No matter where Marko ||
|| Hietala treads, he finds solid ground, a nod to the superb ||
|| performances, production, and songwriting on display. ||
|| ||
|| This blend of styles means that Roses from the Deep has a lot ||
|| of balance and strong flow as an album. For my part, I think it ||
|| is a touch front-loaded, as the opening salvo of ||
|| ôFrankensteinÆs Wife,ö ôLeft on Mars,ö and ôProud Whoreö is a ||
|| fantastic trio of bombastic symphonic power metal that speaks ||
|| right to my preferences. Around the midpoint, another trio ||
|| takes shape: ôDragon Must Die,ö ôDevil You Know,ö and ôRebel of ||
|| the Northö are all traditional heavy metal rockers. I could ||
|| argue that the album lags a touch here because itÆs less my ||
|| style, but itÆs not like the talent faltersùand it helps that ||
|| it all sounds great, with NykΣnenÆs drums in particular packing ||
|| quite the punch, making songs like ôDragon Must Dieö ||
|| hard-hitting triumphs. There are a couple of guest singers, ||
|| tooùTarja Turunen in ôLeft on Marsö and Juha-Pekka LeppΣluoto ||
|| (Northern Kings, Dark Sarah) on ôTwo Soldiers,ö both of whom ||
|| add dimension and feeling to their songs. The variety is ||
|| welcome and makes the hour fly by. ||
|| ||
|| As a longtime fan of HietalaÆs work, what is far and away the ||
|| coolest thing about Roses from the Deep is the way it seems to ||
|| draw on his full breadth of experience as a musician and a ||
|| songwriter. It may be that IÆm making up connections where none ||
|| exist, but it really does feel like this album is what would ||
|| happen if Nightwish and Tarot somehow had a baby and named ||
|| Northern Kings godfather. ôImpatient Zeroö and ôProud Whoreö ||
|| would find happy homes on Suffer Our Pleasures and Gravity of ||
|| Light; ôTwo Soldiersö could sneak into Rethroned or even Dark ||
|| Passion Play; many of the more traditional metal numbers like ||
|| ôRebel of the Northö remind me of The Spell of Iron MMXI; and ||
|| ôRoses from the Deepö feels like the spiritual successor to ||
|| ôGone,ö but wouldnÆt be so out of place on Endless Forms Most ||
|| Beautiful. Of course, this assumes you ignore the modern polish ||
|| the production offers, but it still marks a uniquely ||
|| interesting listening experience for someone who still listens ||
|| to For the Glory of Nothing on a semi-regular basis.1 ||
|| ||
|| I guess that means IÆm a bit biased, but thereÆs just so much ||
|| to like about Roses from the Deepùstrong songwriting, great ||
|| lyrics, and confident performances from experienced musicians ||
|| who bring their all to each song. Marko HietalaÆs talents are ||
|| as strong as ever. Roses from the Deep is at times fun, heavy, ||
|| beautiful, and catchy. More importantly, it balances each of ||
|| these traits gracefully. You donÆt get bored listening to ||
|| Hietala play here, because thereÆs always something new around ||
|| the corner, making this a truly exciting album from a genuine ||
|| metal artist. ||
|| ||
|| ||
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