Review Summary: Not quite Stormy Daniels.
If you skim through Jani Liimatainen’s promotional interviews for “Stormcrow,” you’ll see that even after writing and producing the first Cain’s Offering album all by himself he still wasn’t sure about his songwriting abilities. Which is why he took a logical step and completed a songwriting course at the Lappia conservatory. Well… overconfident men are toxic waste made flesh (for ladies it’s different, a little crown on a girl’s head couldn’t hurt), but excessive insecurity is also not the way to go. I guess Jani is right when he says that Stormcrow is a more focused and coherent affair in comparison with the debut, and you can see that there was an effort to present a more mature version of Cain’s Offering. For one thing, the electronics are nearly extinct, while orchestral elements arranged by Perttu Vänskä have assumed a more prominent role. At the same time, I can’t get rid of the impression that Jani’s writing became a bit too academic.
However, it’s not something that becomes evident from the start. In fact, the first songs of the album work exactly as intended. The title track retains the characteristic melodies and vibes of the band’s first LP but represents a refined and enriched version of that sound. In my opinion, the album reveals most of its strengths early on through the opening trio of songs. “The Best of Times” is a simpler song but the most nostalgic on the album, an equally catchy and slightly heavier version of those sparkling fast tracks from the first LP. Finally, “A Night to Forget” is Jani’s first try at creating more of a singer-songwriter type of a song, a style that he will not really revisit until his solo album in 2022 and a nice diversion from the usual metal album format. Thus, the LP is off to a strong start.
However, the songs that follow demonstrate not so much a drop in quality as an increase in predictability. Don’t get me wrong, I was absolutely happy when a second Cain’s Offering album was announced. It was a nice and completely unexpected surprise for me, as I was sure that it would remain a spur-of-the-moment one-album project. And Jani was quite busy in the six years that passed between the albums. Apart from his tenure at the conservatory, he co-wrote a couple of songs for Stratovarius and was involved in quite a few other projects one way or another. And yet, it does not seem like he picked up a lot of new things along the way. Which is why a lot of the songs on Stormcrow, while competent and well-written, are kinda eclipsed by similar cuts from the previous album. There are quite a few of faster songs in the vein of the band’s debut, but apart from “The Best of Time” none of them reaches the level of excitement or memorability of songs like “Stolen Waters.” The ballad “Too Tired to Run” is a nice song with touching and relatable lyrics, but it doesn’t have the charms of “Elegantly Broken.” The instrumental “I Am Legion” has some interesting moments, but the soundtrack for Pirates of the Caribbean already exists. You should be able to see my point already, but there’s one more song that I’d like to look at a bit closer and not for a good reason. “Antemortem” is a tight and intense track with a stupidly epic chorus, but… it’s basically a Nightwish song. It’s been a while since I revisited those old Nightwish albums, so I can’t tell exactly which song was ripped off, but the orchestral parts and the keyboard melodies in particular clearly scream Holopainen, not Liimatainen. Swiper, no swiping!
Alas, for all maturity and refinement, the magical touch that the first album had is mostly absent from “Stormcrow.” Maybe Jani learned how to write songs the proper way at the conservatory and how to manage and incorporate the orchestral parts better, but at the same time his songwriting became more predictable and less adventurous. Jani mentioned that he wanted to make simpler and more focused songs this time, and perhaps he overdone that part a bit. Most of the progressive touches that the first LP had are gone now. What we have are some faster songs, a couple of ballads, and a few symphonic tracks, all rather formulaic. The first Cain’s Offering was like a work of a young painter who doesn’t have a full grasp on the technical details yet but displays immense enthusiasm and raw talent. This time, the technical skills are there, but a lot of freshness and inspiration that defined the first album appear to be missing.
