ALBUM REVIEW: Temptation’s Gates – Amberian Dawn
Symphonic metal bands go through new singers like it’s going out of business. On AMBERIAN DAWN’s 11th record, Temptation’s Gates, we’re introduced to Nicole Willerton, taking over from Capri. If there’s a bright side to a change in front-woman, AMBERIAN DAWN, and many of their genre mates, might just feel like they have something to prove. Especially since their last record four years ago was Take A Chance: A Metal Tribute To Abba, the less said about which the better.
Willerton seems to have given the band a proper kick up the backside. Temptation’s Gate is a tight little record at under 40 minutes and ushers in an enlivened new era for the band. If the ABBA detour was good for one thing, it was learning how to package melodies and ideas in a way that leaves you wanting more. There are no symphonic metal epics here, nothing overstays its welcome. Instead, pop structures are used to accentuate the urgency of power metal riffing and the punch of a damn good chorus or two. It will take some time for The Vision Of Dreaming’s hook to leave your head. It’s a track with an undeniable 80s stomp to it, all big hair and bigger bass drum beats. Like all the best rock music from back then, there’s just no use in fighting it. It’s a triumph.
Which is the story of the entire record. This Night Is Waiting For Me carries on in a similar arena-pleasing vein and sounds absolutely massive, while Eternal Flame contains the album’s standout synth solo. More than anything, it’s all just a bunch of fun. At the climax of Moon, the band have rarely sounded more alive. It’s all about dusting off cobwebs and injecting a shot of energy into AMBERIAN DAWN’s career and they succeed without reservation.
Anyone looking for cutting edge metal is already in the wrong place, but there are more than enough galloping guitars here to welcome back anyone put off by the band foraying too far into cheese. The only time it gets a little close to cringe is on Life Is Art, a wide-eyed ode to creativity that nonetheless sounds more than a bit Disney. But fans of the genre are typically willing to go there so long as the rest of the package has a bit more bite to it, and with Willerton at the helm, the band introduce growls to contrast their typically tuneful side. The music doesn’t always need them, but they’re another instance of the band rediscovering their sense of explosivity.
Undying Colours may be the record’s highlight for its lyrical ambiguity. Willerton sounds bold and defiant in a song that could be about getting past a breakup or it could be about coming out the other side of a deep depression. Either way, the considerate penmanship speaks to the band’s approach on Temptation’s Gates, on which everything sounds intentional and finely tuned. By the time Phantasmagoria rings out, it sounds like the band are just getting started. Welcome back AMBERIAN DAWN, this is one to be proud of.
Rating: 8/10
Temptation’s Gates is set for release on June 26th via Napalm Records.
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