ALBUM REVIEW: Silver Lake By Esa Holopainen – Silver Lake By Esa Holopainen
COVID-19 has thrown many spanners into many works but during these uncertain days guitarist, Esa Holopainen has been given the gift of some downtime. A solo album had allegedly been in the works for a few years but finally, after 30 years of crushing it as the main riff lord of the mighty AMORPHIS, Esa has broken away and been able to create his own opus under the moniker of SILVER LAKE BY ESA HOLOPAINEN with the help of a who’s who of Scandinavian metal royalty.
Esa and AMORPHIS have a very distinct sound and have crafted what could be considered a blueprint in the melodic death metal scene, but the question is what direction will he be heading in with this solo effort? The answer is an eclectic mix of acoustic passages and heart-pounding riffs but ultimately suffers due to a lack of any real direction. Some guest vocalists, while incredibly talented, don’t completely acclimatize to their chosen tracks as much as others.
The opening instrumental title track Silver Lake is a beautifully delicate dance of plucked acoustic strings interwoven with majestic keys which eventually lead way to a building crescendo of electric guitars and synths. It’s a grand entrance that leads into our first track with a guest vocalist.
The sultry tones of KATATONIA’s Jonas Renske are unmistakable and the AMORPHIS/KATATONIA connection is solidified in what could well be on one of the latter’s recent records. It does feature a more uplifting tone than perhaps they are known for, showing Esa’s influence in full swing. It’s Jonas’ first of two features on this record, with the other being the album closer Apprentice. Storm is the first track to really step up the plate and swing for the fences. Its opening moments feel like they could have been drawn from 80s/90s Europop with its building bop. The chorus is the true star here with vocalist Hakan Hemlin on hand to help unleash a powerhouse moment which the accompanying video helps put in perspective.
Continuing from Esa’s pop influences in Storm, Ray of Light sees LEPROUS‘ Einar Solberg lend his high pitched godly voice to the album. Its catchy refrain is sure to be stuck circulating your brain soon after listening. It’s an interesting track to hear SILVER LAKE BY ESA HOLOPAINEN create as it’s quite a departure from his AMORPHIS work. If it’s more of his signature sound you’re after, you’ll be happy to know there are more tracks leaning on the heavier side of the spectrum soon after. In Her Solitude features AMORPHIS‘ own Tomi Joutsen which features both his harsh and clean vocals. While SOILWORK‘s Bjorn ‘Speed’ Strid lends his pipes to the melodic but heavy, Promising Sun.
SILVER LAKE BY ESA HOLOPAINEN has created a fine body of work to showcase he can break free from AMORPHIS with some interesting curveballs but some tracks ultimately fall to a case of good but not great. Fading Moon features the always brilliant Anneke Van Giersbergen but the tracks fails to shine until closer to the end and feels a little safe while Alkusointu (translated to Alliteration) is a spoken word number that fails to be anything other than just different and would most likely be demoted to a skipped track for most.
Esa Holopainen is incredible at his craft and his years of hard work in AMORPHIS has created an everlasting legacy in the melodic death metal world. His solo work here is commendable but ultimately not all that groundbreaking. The production is faultless however and the guest vocal additions are perfect throughout. His guitar work is as stellar as you’d expect and he makes every track feel effortlessly created. Fans of AMORPHIS will no doubt love to hear more of Esa’s work and for those who need an introduction, this is a great place to start.
Rating: 8/10
Silver Lake by Esa Holopainen is set for release on May 28th via Nuclear Blast Records.
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