Review Summary: Check this out.
Nowadays, I just cannot stand generic Metal bands like All That Remains and Trivium. Why? Because I've just heard it all before. It feels like I'm struggling to find any unique bands nowadays. Thank God this band exist. Diversity and unity in music are things that can come in many different forms in Metal today, yet no band gives them to you quite like the young Finnish lads,
Kiuas do. I originally checked out this band purely because they were playing at a gig I’d be attending, but really, I never thought this album would be
nearly as good as it is. From the opening seconds of the first track, Kiuas take you on an epic and powerful journey, mixing elements of black, death, power, NWOBHM and thrash Metal in the process. This is
The New Dark Age.
The New Dark Age opens with ‘The Decaying Doctrine’, and wow, it surely kicks things off with a bang! The speedy opening riff instantly slaps you in the face and grabs your attention; it’s unlike anything I’ve ever heard before. The rest of the band comes in, while vocalist Ilja Jalkanen comes in with some odd vocals reminiscent of Black Metal. Fear not though, as the proper verse comes in with his usual singing voice. Seriously, this guy is a fantastic singer; his voice in incredibly powerful, yet has this rough edge that stops it from becoming too melodic and/or annoying. The song’s good, until the chorus comes in, where it reaches a new level totally. As soon as I heard the line
“Fire rains down from the heavens/pouring down on those too weak to learn” I was totally sold on Kiuas. It’s powerful, catchy, epic...it’s just an undeniably great chorus. Now you’re probably thinking what are the other choruses on this album like, right? Do not worry, as nearly every song has a chorus just as powerful as the one found on the tremendous opening track.
‘Conqueror’ continues in the same vein, although it has a more uplifting feel. I really love the riff in the bridge before the chorus. ‘Kiuas War Anthem’ is the third track, but it’s different from the two previous songs, as the catchy, somewhat epic feel usually found in the chorus is present in the verses, while the chorus is heavier and a lot less catchy. In fact, it's one of the heaviest songs Kiuas have ever recorded. Have I mentioned the guitar solos yet? The first comparison I thought of when I heard Mikko Salovaara’s solos was Joe Satriani. Mikko goes absolutely wild all over his guitar (tapping most notes); surprisingly it never feels wank-ish and gives us some wicked, Metal-riffic solos. He does do some un-shredded, more melodic solos too (see the end of ‘Black Rose Withered’), which are a nice change. The title track is the fourth song, and Kiuas continue to impress with their fantastic songwriting.
Speaking of the title track, the lyrics on the album are superb. Those familiar with previous Kiuas albums would be surprised reading this, as the lyrics found on say, The Spirit Of Ukko were somewhat bland, but on The New Dark Age things have improved big time. They're no longer based off of Pagan themes - here they’re loosely based around the concept of the world declining. An no, it’s not some environment/global warming BS, it’s well thought-out stuff that doesn't force itself upon you. Take the chorus from the title track –
“Born into this world of chaos/rising up from the grey, grey masses/amidst the mayhem we must all find our place/I know my way just read the smile on my face…”, it just works. Not all of the lyrics are based around that topic though. The song ‘Black Rose Withered’ seems to be about love, and even though it’s quite a basic lyrical topic, they just pull it off so fluently. For example, the chorus goes:
“Black Rose, where is your heart of stone/maybe the winter, for you was too cold”. What’s so great about that is any other band would write something like
“Was the winter too cold for you?” for the second line, but Kiuas literally take it one step further, with the totally awesome
“Maybe the winter, for you was too cold” line.
So, what is so diverse about this album? For one, every single track is different from the rest. For example, every chorus is catchy, but unlike say, DragonForce’s
Inhuman Rampage where while every chorus is catchy, you can only remember one chorus from the album (that obviously being ‘Through The Fire And Flames’), every chorus on
The New Dark Age is different, so they’re all memorable. Songs range in lengths (from 4 to 7 minutes), and there’s even a ballad (‘After The Storm’). But the real diverse thing about this album is the general sound. Throughout the album Kiuas combines elements from most subgenres of Heavy Metal, making the album sound really nothing like anything I’ve heard before. The choruses are like a mixture of power Metal and NWOBHM (see every song), there are some blast beats and death growls from death Metal (see the title track and ‘To Excel And Ascend’), heavy riffs that remind me of thrash (see ‘To Excel and Ascend’ and ‘Kiuas War Anthem’) and even some black Metal-ish vocals and tremolo picking (‘The Decaying Doctrine’ and 'Kiuas War Anthem' respectively). The combination of styles works phenomenally, as the general sound is totally unique, yet it’s still easy to get into if you like Metal (because of the actual styles present).
And of course, instrumentally this is top notch. Vocals are near perfect, Ilja Jalkanen is like a rough Bruce Dickinson (not anything like on
Fear Of The Dark though); he has a good range (check the high notes on ‘After The Storm’), sings different styles (ie growling, snarling) and has this incredible power in his voice. As already mentioned, the guitar work is very good, but something else that stands out is the keyboard work. Keyboardist Atte Tanskanen does a fantastic job, from harmonizing with Mikko at the right times, to a few solos (which unlike CoB and others, aren’t trying to compete with the guitarist), to holding down some keys for a few seconds in some choruses, which adds to the epic feel of them. The bass on this album follows the guitar most of the time, but that's good, because it makes every riff seem appropriately heavier, and during the solos he adopts more of a rhythm guitar role too, which works well considering this band only have one guitarist. On
The Spirit Of Ukko I disliked the drumming at points, because drummer, Markku Näreneva got overpowering with his double-bass use and technicality. He’s toned things down on this album, going for less speed but more of a powerful groove, even though there's less craziness here, his beats and fills are the most interesting yet. He still uses the double bass, but it's always used appropriately and is never once relied upon. This album definitely delivers instrumentally.
So, why doesn’t this get a perfect score? It’s close, but I can’t consider it due to the album not ending very strongly. Firstly, the track 'Of Scarifice Loss And Reward' is a filler, but it's such good quality it's not hard to ignore. The thing I can't ignore is the last track, ‘The Wanderer’s Lamentation’ - it's a very weak song (tries to be progressive but winds up being boring, and an annoying, forced chorus doesn't help), so it being put on last leaves a bit of a sour taste in your mouth when the album ends. The penultimate track, ‘The Summoning’ is awesome (epic with the chanting in the final chorus and things) – they should have just left ‘The Wanderer’s Lamentation’ off and let that end the album. Also, at 55 minutes spread over 10 songs (average track length 5:30), the album does start to drag at the end, but I totally blame ‘The Wanderer’s Lamentation’ for that, as not only is it a bad track; it goes on for nearly 7 minutes.
In conclusion, this album is absolutely superb. It’s incredibly unique. Every song is different. The instrumentation is top notch. The lyrics rule. The choruses are some of the best I’ve ever heard. I could go on all day about why this is awesome, but I think I’ve said enough here. Be sure to check this out.
