Although this is Marko’s second solo album, it is the first since he left Nightwish at the end of 2020, citing mental illness as the reason. He has made some live appearances since then, most notably with ex-Nightwish singer Tarja Turunen where they performed “Phantom of the Opera”, as well as resurrecting Northern Kings. I always felt he was a key member of Nightwish, with his vocals providing the perfect foil for Tarja/Floor, so was looking forward with great interest to hear what this would be like. Would he stay symphonic or move elsewhere? I put in on the player and was prepared to be impressed, yet as I listened to opener “Frankenstein’s Wife” I could not believe what I was listening to, as this sounds like a full-blown Magnum number, not something I expected at all. This was followed up with a duet with Tarja, and not long afterwards there was an acoustic/orchestral number which is performed as a duet with his fellow Northern Kings vocalist Juha-Pekka “JP” Leppäluoto.
It was soon becoming apparent that Hietela was doing exactly what he wanted, with whom he wanted, and the only person he wanted to please was himself. The result is a metal album with some symphonic influences here and there, but it is far removed from what he was doing with Nightwish and is often in a simpler manner, taking its influences from folk as well as metal, often staying in 4/4 time but not always, with space being an important part of the overall sound and if he wants to play mandolin then why not? It is an incredibly mature album, as one might expect from someone who has been a member of one of the world’s largest bands, performing all over the world for decades and no he is in sole control of the outcome as opposed to working with a composer and other musicians on an equal basis. It is not as immediate an album as it might have been, but the more I have listened to this the more I confess to having really enjoyed it. With this release Hietela is moving away from what he did with Nightwish and creating his own direction, and the result is a very enjoyable metal release which will please fans old and new.
Rating: 10/10
Links:
https://marko-hietala.com/
https://www.nuclearblast.com/