A pretty enjoyable cheese fest…
Review by Dan Alderson
Release date: 15 May 2015
Cain’s Offering return six years after their debut offering Gather The Faithful. For those not in the know, Cain’s Offering is essentially the brainchild of Jani Liimatainen, created after his departure from Sonata Arctica. Stormcrow wastes no time in dropping the listener with bombastic vocal harmonies and cheesy guitar harmonies with the opening title track. This is gorgonzola in all its glory, Timo Kotipelo (of Stratovarius fame) is on the ball throughout, showcasing his impressive vocal talent, with any amounts of vocal layering. Couple this with some catchy vocal hooks, especially in the choruses and you’ll be walking away humming some of the lyrics after one listen.
If you’re the type of metal fan that can barely stand flower power then this album is not for you. Stormcrow is the floweriest of metal and then some. The guitars take a back seat approach for the most part, in place for the fruity use of keyboards and the vocal hooks mentioned earlier to drive the songs forward. However, Lani does lay down some infectious and delightful guitar melodies and plenty of shred worthy lead’s, which should have guitarists grinning throughout the albums run time. But don’t expect much in the line of actual guitar riffing on Stormcrow.
The album’s dynamic ranges from speedy double kick lead power metal anthems, such as the single ‘I Will Build You A Rome’ and ‘Constellation of Tears’. To more mid paced and symphonic led cuts, such as ‘Antemortem’ and ‘A Night To Forget’. The album’s ballads aren’t exactly disastrous either. However, the first of the bunch ‘Too Tired To Run’ drags on for a little too long at its 6:13 run length. In listens to the album in preparation for this review, it was hard to resist the temptation to skip to the next track.
The production on Stormcrow is hopelessly mechanical and modern. The drums are obviously quantized and heavily sampled, the keyboards and guitars also sound rather synthetic, this is as close to pop as metal could ever get, sonically and musically. If you like cheesy power metal then you will like what Cain’s Offering are doing here, fans of AOR may even find enjoyment and the album has potential mainstream appeal, due to the accessibility and instant hooks on offer. Stormcrow is a pretty enjoyable cheese fest, even if completely disposable.
6.5 out of 10
Track listing:
- Stormcrow
- The Best of Times
- A Night to Forget
- I Will Build You A Rome
- Too Tired to Run
- Constellation of Tears
- Antemortem
- My Heart Beats for No One
- I Am Legion
- Rising Sun
- On the Shore
- Child of The Wild
