Magic Forest

After getting the first Amberian Dawn CD (Re-Evolution) with new vocalist Capri, I was expecting something really phenomenal with their next effort, Magic Forest. Unfortunately I'm a little disappointed. The problem isn't with the musicianship which remains strong - but in the material which is weak by this band's standards. To be sure, it has its moments. The title track is the best - although the 'Bohemian Rhapsody' thing in the breaks is a bit bizarre and detracts from the cut. But the chorus soars and makes up for it. Dance of Life is also good. But most of the rest, for me, is in one ear and out the other without registering in memory.That being said, AD is a stellar band. The addition of Capri (Finnish vocalist Paivi Virkkunen) was a quantum leap for the band. She is much better suited to this kind of music than former long-time AD front woman Heidi Parvainen who would be more at home as an operatic lyric soprano. At times it seems as if Capri is trying to channel Charlotte Wessels - not a bad thing at all. Capri is really good!Guitarist Emil Pohjalainen continues to amaze with his skill. My one criticism is that practically all his solos are frenzies of lightning-fast sweeps, scales and arpeggios that all start to sound the same after a while. Compare for example the work of Claudio Pietronik in Ancient Bards on "Birth of Evil" or "Master of Darkness": same blazing fireworks but much more melodic and flowing.The last 2 tracks on "Magic Forest are instrumentals where Emil trades at least some of the frenzy for flow which is an interesting digression. "Dance of Life" sounds eerily like a Tom Scholtz (Boston) production - I like it and wish I could play even a tenth as good as he does.I really love this band - I just wish they'd have taken a bit more time to develop better material before their sophomore effort.

Ok Heidi or Capri? I give up! I still truly enjoy AB except re-evolution, I hope their next album will make me Re-appreciate AB as I did before Capri. She is a wonderful singer in her own rite but I am sorry I can't help comparing her to Heidi!

Some power metal women singers are really great. This is one that was really great. Like night wish and within temptation it was amazing.

Love this band. They put a lot into each release.

I like it.

I'm stuck between three and four stars. In the world of symphonic metal, the true masters easily distance themselves, like Within Temptation, Nightwish, and revamp singer/after forever/ NEW frontwoman of nightwish Floor Jansen, and Epica. I leave out bands not fronted by a strong woman, for the relevant comparison. This band has potential and some good concepts in the album's and songs, but they rarely stand out. Kinda the same here. It's worth having as this album has a good mood provoking element and I do have it on my nighttime playlist. For stand alone songs, I prefer these..." Dance of Life", " I'm still here", and the self titled track. There are not a lot of surprises, but that's not a bad thing here.

The new singer is really first rate - the best singing you will ever hear - the songs are all really well done,-great melodies - every song is exceptional

Nice fill with the new singer. Good job staying with the gothic theme and gothic sound. Glad to see Amberian Dawn composing gothic story-line songs. Hope Amberian Dawn continues to use deep gothic folklore in their future musical arrangements.

My favourite Abba song is 'Eagle', and in retrospect, I think it should have long ago spawned a genre of fantasy power metal. Enter Amberian Dawn. I have not heard any of their earlier work, but I've heard a fair amount of stuff in this genre, and this album is just what I needed to listen to right now. The songwriting and dual harmonies are extremely well done - very much influenced by the 70s Swedes. Check out the 'magic forest' track on youtube, and if you liked it as much as I did, buy this album.

*throws up the horns*

..... war mein erster Gedanke als ich den Opener "Cherish my Memory" hörte. Sollte jetzt jemand denken das ich das negativ meine - Fehlanzeige, mir gefällts! Laut Mastermind Tuomas Seppälä war das durchaus auch so gewollt. Das neue Album ist jetzt nichts für Vertreter der harten Schiene, aber wer melodischen Pop-Symphonic-Metal (kann man das so sagen?) mag ist hier gut aufgehoben. Die neue Sängerin Capri hat eine sehr gute und angenehme Stimme mit einer, wie ich finde, enormen Bandbreite. Die Songs sind melodisch, dynamisch und perfekt auf die neue Sängerin zugeschnitten.Fazit: Ein solides Album ohne große Ausfälle, jedoch auch ohne große Überraschungen! Hervorzuheben sind "Cherish my memory", "Dance of life", Magic forrest", "Sons of the rainbow" und die Ballade "Green-eyed".Nur 4 Sterne weil mir irgendwie der letzte "Tick" gefehlt hat, das Aha-Erlebnis!

Ok, was schreibt man über eine (neue) Musik CD... Musik ist immer Geschmacksache. Mir persönlich hat die CD sehr gut gefallen. Die Richtung kann man vor Kauf beim Reinhören ja schon "erahnen". Kannte Amberian Dawn bis dato nicht. Bin bei einer einschlägigen Webseite auf das offizielle Musikvideo gestossen und habe für mich entschieden: ein Must Have

Personalmente lo ritengo il miglior album degli Amberian Dawn. Musiche orchestrali e utilizzo dei cori magistrale. Forse un po' meno metal ricercato delle precedenti opere ma sicuramente non meno potente. Anche le ultime due canzoni, solo strumentali, dell'album sono qualcosa di eccezionale. Probabilmente i puristi lo troveranno molto più commerciale degli altri album...probabilmente è così, ma sarà forse il cambio alla guardia della lead singer femminile ma questa opera ha una marcia in più: canzoni come Cherish my memory, Magic Forest (vds video ufficiale), Sons of The Rainbow e quelle strumentali mi hanno impressionato. Poi al prezzo di poco più di 8 euro.....