Arion‘s four-year wait has paid off.
Now signed to Reigning Phoenix Music, Iivo Kaipainen (guitar), Gege Velinov (bass), Topias Kupiainen (drums), Arttu Vauhkonen (keyboards) and Lassi Vääränen (vocals) unveil The Light That Burns the Sky.
The album gets off to a slow start with the intriguing The Darkest Day on which the instrumental arrives very slowly, then reveals epic tones before finally joining The Light That Burns the Sky, where we find again those jerky riffs and finally Lassi‘s motivating voice leading the composition. The band’s energy remains perfectly intact and makes us want to join them in their charge, just as it does on the cutting solo that pushes us all the way to Like The Phoenix I Will Rise which takes much the same elements and gives them martial tones, even daring a furious blast during the verses. Still, the track remains majestic thanks to keyboards, before welcoming Melissa Bonny (Ad Infinitum, live for Kamelot) to give a softer touch to Wings of Twilight, a track on which the two vocalists each bring their influences and create an intense duet. The band offer us a moment’s respite before the riffs strike again on Burning in the Skies, coupling imposing tones with the liveliness of power metal and the power of clean vocals, but the sound darkens with From An Empire To A Fall, which quickly becomes heavier while retaining its rage. After a short respite we move on to Wildfire, where the modern mix gives the riffs a very special flavor, letting the vocalist run wild and offering more aggressive vocal parts, as on Blasphemous Paradise where the cybernetic tones are more present and give the track a special flavor. Some parts seem a little more danceable, in contrast to Black Swan, which once again veers towards a jerky groovy sound conducive to headbanging, but also furious accelerations and unifying choruses. The band returns to its grandiose orchestrations for In The Heart Of The Sea, which delivers massive waves of catchy sound, particularly during the break before the melodious solo, then the album reaches its final moments with Into The Hands Of Fate, which literally takes all the elements of the previous tracks and sets them ablaze to reach this apotheosis, whether in terms of martial sounds, modernity borrowed from Metalcore or firepower.
Arion continues down the path of modernity while retaining its Power/Symphonic influences, but the sound becomes a little more simple and jerky on The Light That Burns the Sky. Fans will still find plenty to stir their skulls.
80/100