{"id":56185,"date":"2017-11-29T19:56:23","date_gmt":"2017-11-30T00:56:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=56185"},"modified":"2017-11-29T20:15:04","modified_gmt":"2017-11-30T01:15:04","slug":"the-dark-element-music-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2017\/the-dark-element-music-review\/","title":{"rendered":"The Dark Element | The Dark Element"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Franco Cerchiari<\/span>
\n– Sr. Columnist —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"With the history that Anette Olzon has with Nightwish, the similarities to this release and that band will of course be made. But, listen to this release on its own merit. This is a band that was put together to feature the angelic, gorgeous voice of Anette Olzon, and here she seems to be in her element (pun intended.) Firmly planted in the genre of Melodic Metal, The Dark Element<\/em> showcases just how incredible of a voice Anette does have. While her time with Nightwish was, for whatever reason, brief, here she shines and it\u2019s a hope that her tenure with The Dark Element will be long and fruitful.<\/p>\n

Released on the Frontiers Records label, along with Olzon is Finnish guitarist Jani Liimatainen (Cain\u2019s Offering, Sonata Arctica) drummer Jani Hurula (Cain\u2019s Offering, Silent Voices) and bassist Jonas Kuhlberg (Mygrain, Cain\u2019s Offering) and together this foursome meshes amazingly well. The vocals soar, the keyboards are incredible, the choruses shoot heavenward and the chugging guitar offers the sound that is Melodic Metal. <\/p>\n

While of course the music is a huge part of The Dark Element, all ears and notes point to the voice of Anette. She is the focal part of this band and she is allowed to cut loose and sing her lungs out, and the fact that she is allowed to cut loose and belt out the sung words is what makes this album such a fantastic listen. The music is dramatic, symphonic, insanely appealing, and one can tell that when the time came for the songwriters to sit down and create the melodies, care was taken to produce music that would work with the voice that Anette does have. Mix the voice of Olzon with the Melodic Metal of this band and the results are fun, engaging and infectious songs, that during many moments when the verses gave way to the choruses, the head began to nod, and once again because of the crystal clear sound that the Frontiers label is so known for, that radiant and dazzling mixing gave this release the vibe it has. So it has to be said, the music that the band was shooting for, they found it. <\/p>\n

Listen of course to this CD\u2019s single, the bombastic, heavy, symphonic \u201cMy Sweet Mystery\u201d the gorgeous keyboards of \u201cHere\u2019s To You,\u201d and the Heavy Metal experience, complete with vocal screams, heard on \u201cDead To Me,\u201d and \u201cLast Good Day,\u201d would complete any movie soundtrack. Listen as well to the gentle \u201cHeaven Of Your Heart,\u201d and \u201cI Cannot Raise The Dead\u201d is dramatic as hell with a sinister underscore. \u201cThe Ghost and the Reaper\u201d is a guitarist\u2019s dream come true, and closing this CD is the soaring, larger-than-life \u201cThe Only One Who Knows Me,\u201d that features a steady beat coming from the drums, and a heroic sounding chorus that grows in volume and pitch. <\/p>\n

This was a great listen all the way around. Not a bad track to be heard, and the CD played out nicely. Fans of Metalite, Minniva, Bare Infinity, and Exit Eden will love this, but for those who have been wondering what\u2019s been going on with Anette, here\u2019s your answer \u2013 her and the boys of The Dark Element have been busy in the studio and releasing an excellent slice of Melodic Metal.<\/p>\n

Genre: Melodic Metal<\/p>\n

Band Members:
\nAnette Olzon \u2013 vocals
\nJani Liimatainen \u2013 guitars, keyboards
\nJonas Kuhlberg \u2013 bass
\nJani Hurula \u2013 drums<\/p>\n

Track Listing:
\n1. The Dark Element
\n2. My Sweet Mystery
\n3. Last Good Day
\n4. Here\u2019s To You
\n5. Some You Used To Know
\n6. Dead To Me
\n7. Halo
\n8. I Cannot Raise The Dead
\n9. The Ghost and the Reaper
\n10. Heaven of Your Heart
\n11. Only One Who Knows Me<\/p>\n

Label: Frontiers Records<\/p>\n

Website: https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TheDarkElement\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven rating: [usr 8.5 size=20]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Franco Cerchiari – Sr. Columnist — With the history that Anette Olzon has with Nightwish, the similarities to this release and that band will of course be made. But, listen to this release on […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":56187,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15128],"tags":[13931,13933,13929,13930,374,13932,3439,12354,4084,542,13928],"class_list":{"0":"post-56185","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arcrvws2017","8":"tag-anette-olzon","9":"tag-cains-offering","10":"tag-dark","11":"tag-element","12":"tag-frontiers-records","13":"tag-jani-liimatainen","14":"tag-melodic-metal","15":"tag-music-review","16":"tag-nightwish","17":"tag-sonata-arctica","18":"tag-the-dark-element"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56185","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56185"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56185\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/56187"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56185"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56185"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56185"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}