Amberian Dawn Discography (2008-2012)

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Amberian Dawn Discography (2008-2012)

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Amberian Dawn is a Finnish metal band which combines bravely many different kinds of styles in their music with high skilled playing. During their existence, Amberian Dawn has honed their trademark sound with expert precision, making highly polished albums of Neoclassic symphonic metal that are sure to be heralded as future classics by fans of the genre.

Amberian Dawn is musically lead by keyboardist/guitarist Tuomas Seppälä, who exclusively composes all music for AD. Vocalist Heidi Parviainen adds the finishing touch to the songs with her lyrics.

The story of AD began in the summer 2006 when the founder members, Tuomas Seppälä and Tommi Kuri decided to put together a new band when their former band Virtuocity was disbanding. Tuomas and Tommi recruited Virtuocity drummer Heikki Saari (Norther, Force Majeure, Tuoni), keyboardist Tom Sagar, and guitarist Sampo Seppälä to join the new band. After a fairly short search they found the classical soprano Heidi Parviainen (Iconofear) who turned out to be a perfect match - not only can she sing, she can also write intriguing lyrics and performs her craft effortlessly both on the stage in the studio. Amberian Dawn was finally born! After a while Sampo Seppälä (guitar) decided to leave the band due to personal reasons. His replacement came in the shape of the powerful guitarist Kasperi Heikkinen (Iconofear, Merging Flare , Guardians of Mankind, Elenium) and the band grew even stronger. Heikki Saari moved soon to Norther and his replacement was another young crazy drummer Joonas Pykälä-Aho (Thaurorod& Lathspell).

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Amberian Dawn Discography (2008-2012)

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This first lineup recorded the debut album "River of Tuoni" which was released in Europe and parts of Asia in 2008. River of Tuoni Tour took Amberian Dawn on the road with a Dutch symphonic metal band Epica and together they treated their European fans with 22 shows in 8 countries across Europe.

The year 2009 sees the release of AD's second masterpiece "The Clouds of Northland Thunder" and a change in the line-up. Emil Pohjalainen (Thaurorod) recently joined on second guitar with Tuomas moving to keyboards permanently for the live shows, thus replacing Tom Sagar. Tuomas will remain active on guitar for his writing and for future recordings. As one of the most technically advanced metal bands today, Amberian Dawn is fully armed and operational to continue their epic journey throughout the globe. First in line are the clubs (London, Helsinki) and festivals (Sweden Rock , Metal Female Voices) in Europe with more dates to follow. Stay tuned and follow the clouds.

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Amberian Dawn Discography (2008-2012)

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Amberian Dawn – финская группа, исполняющая музыку в стиле symphonic metal и power metal, с классическим женским вокалом. Все участники Amberian Dawn имеют весьма большой музыкальный опыт. Tuomas Seppälä (клавишные), Heikki Saari (ударные), Peter James Goodman (вокал) и Tommi Kuri (басы) играли в группе Virtuocity. После распада группы Virtuocity они начали работать над текстами, сочиненными Tuomas. Тот, в свою очередь, овладел игрой на гитаре на том же мастерском уровне, что и на клавишных. Также к ним присоединяются Sampo Seppälä (гитара) и Tom Sagar (клавишные), авторы другого музыкального проекта Atheme One. Немногим позже Heikki Saari ушел в группу Norther, его место занял перкуссионист Joonas Pykälä-Aho (Thaurorod, Lathspell).

Именно летом 2006 Tuomas и Tommi занялись поиском классического женского вокала. Tuomas составил дюжину великолепных песен, которые не сочетались с голосом вокалиста Atheme One Peter James Goodman. Но какое-то решение необходимо было принять, так как ни в чьи интересы не входила потеря столь замечательных песен. Так началась охота за вокалом.

После нескольких недель поисков, почти одновременно, они нашли то, что искали - классическое сопрано Heidi Parviainen (Iconofear). После организованного для неё прослушивания было решено устроить демо сессию. Heidi оказалась прекрасной находкой – могла не только прекрасно петь, но и сочиняла интригующую лирику. Так родился проект Amberian Dawn.

Через некоторое время Sampo Seppälä (гитара) покинул группу по личным причинам. На замену ему нашелся хороший гитарист Kasperi Heikkilä (Guardians Of Mankind, Merging Flare, Iconofear), который ещё больше усилил группу. Группа Amberian Dawn начала прорабатывать и аранжировать песни для Heidi. Первая студийная запись была в конце 2006, и группа записала две песни в Rockstar Productions studio in Hyvinkää, Finland (River of Tuoni and Evil Inside Me).

Amberian Dawn подписали контракт с лейблом KHY Suomen Musiikki и 30 января 2008 года был выпущен дебютный альбом «River of Tuoni».

~ lastfm

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Amberian Dawn Discography (2008-2012)

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If you like Tarja’s vocals skills then blind eyes go and buy this. This is one of the best old Nightwish worship albums I have heard in years. That doesn’t mean this is bad. No, the problems with this album come from other places which I will explain but as far as entertainment it is good but not excellent. This album is short and since I am a sucker for the genre I had to dig into this. Let me elaborate on what I think are the main two things about this recording: 1. there is a massive lack of good song writing skills and/or 2. The simple structures are made on purpose to appeal to pop masses. I say this because I have listened to this album a lot of times and the 36 min. it lasts, plus the less than 4min. length of the songs and structures make me think so. It is that obvious!

Thus, let’s start by the very beginning which is nothing less than the vocal performance: Heidi Parviainen is a good singer. Her range is, perhaps, wider than Tarja’s herself. She uses higher tones than Tarja ever did. She goes from classical trained singing style to pop style effortlessly and she is very interesting to listen to. Why I keep comparing (as perhaps everybody around) to Tarja Turunen since this is not Nightwish? Simple: because the fashion nowadays is to put a red hair opera singer in front of 4 or 5 more and less average musicians, playing some pop-metal and zap! You’ve got yourself a recipe to sell a lot of records and become famous. If you do not believe me, ask Epica, After Forever, etc. This is, to put it lightly, a worship to Wishmaster days but even easier to dig. Thus, the vocals are quite good but as far as I am concerned, Floor Jansen and Marcela Bovio are still far more superior and professional providing entertainment to me. Heidi’s tone is very clean and she knows what she does but I bet the problem is that she does not have (yet) kick ass songs as Tarja had back then. This would help a lot to Heidi to fly sky high.

The song writing is sailing in middle ground which is another problem I find. The songs have simple verse-chorus-verse-chorus-solo-chorus. The lyrics are somewhat cheesy and too pop influenced as far as sentences and all that. There is no in depth details, for example, such as Epica today with really good lyrics.

There are the usual guitar-keyboard dual leads all over. This is good as long as the keyboards don’t overpower the guitars and that doesn’t happen here. The riffs are very simple and have nothing remarkable. They are following the songs and build themselves along with the rest of the instruments; especially the vocals but they do not drive the songs. The guitar solos are present on all the songs but they lack some melody. They make me think they were written just to put a solo in the song but they didn’t know how to create good solos.

The songs are very melodic and somewhat catchy. They might not stick into your mind at first because of the classical vocal performance in some instances. Nevertheless they are so simple that you can play the album twice a day and you won-t even notice it. That does not mean this is bad. If you want to have some fun listening to a short album with really good vocals and simple structure overall you can easily dig this one out. Standout tracks I would say the title track, ‘Dawn Valkyries’ (awesome vocal melodies), and ‘Face of the maiden’. This is a good album but lacks good song writing skills that perhaps have improved in the second album. I eagerly will go to that one.

by Kalelfromkrypton

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Amberian Dawn Discography (2008-2012)

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After their successful debut, Amberian Dawn returned in 2009 with its follow-up The Clouds Of Northland Thunder. Anticipations were high and it seems like the band did not disappoint their fans. The Clouds Of Northland Thunder is not only production-wise better; this record shows a great improvement in the musicians' skills. Apparently, the band grew in confidence and remained faithful to their usual style.

Similar to River Of Tuoni, the band's second album contains mainly lively songs, as well as a couple of slower ones. I have to admit that ballads are definitely the weaker side of Amberian Dawn; however, "Willow Of Tears" is probably the only strong ballad of the band by far - starting with a tender introduction and continuing with an emotional and captivating verse. On this record, there are a lot more faster and longer guitar solos to be heard. I can still state that Amberian Dawn is not the type of band that relies on solos and their effect on power metal lovers simply because of the fact that this band's music is not all about praising and proving musicians' abilities. But still, riffs and solos do appear more often on The Clouds Of Northland Thunder than on the band's previous release.

Tempos and rhythms vary from song to song, as for example on "Shallow Waters" where mid-tempo verses float into a fast chorus. Tracks like this one, among most of the others off the record, show the complexity of its compositions. Obviously, all pieces were performed with mastery and larger experience. Drum parts have become more difficult and Heidi's voice has even polished. This time, previously-inappropriate-grunts have given way to clear male ones which definitely fit in the band's style. Moreover, the perfect balance between vocals and instruments is again evident on the album. Lyrically speaking, The Clouds Of Northland Thunder is not anything special and new to metalheads. The slight difference is that during the writing process, the band decided to base some of their lyrics on Egyptian mythology, too. Amongst the best songs off the record are "Incubus" with its theatrical chorus reminding of tracks such as "Passion And The Opera" by Nightwish, the touching ballad "Willow Of Tears" and "Shallow Waters," as well.

By releasing their second album, Amberian Dawn proved they are indeed worth a listen. People who label their music as non-existent "owl metal" are blinded and foolish (I would even say quite incompetent, as well). On The Clouds Of Northland Thunder, Heidi Parviainen's voice has improved and become even more impressive than before. Tuomas Seppälä's writing skills are on a whole new level and show his unarguable talent as a composer. Symphonic metal lovers will definitely find listening to this album is not a waste of their time.

by Elodie Artour

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With the once-mighty Nightwish now sitting pretty upon their golden throne of mediocrity, the stage is set for the next good symphonic femmetal group to come forth and dazzle. Now, granted, there have been a number of decent-to-great lady-fronted metal acts that’ve come our way in the past number of years, some of whom also tackle the strings-and-brass sound very well, but for as well-meaning and skillful as they are, they didn’t have the means necessary to get to the top of their particular food chain. And so, vacant it remains, and unfulfilled some of us continue to be, wondering if it will end up being conquered in the end.

But with that said, another band comes at as from the very country that gave us a reason to wish for the night, which begs us to wonder; does Amberian Dawn have what it takes to be such a group?

From the get-go, you can tell these guys (and gal) don’t fuck around; from the powerful opening choirs to the overall crushing appeal of the band itself, there’s plenty to take in and, thankfully, just as much to enjoy. What makes “End of Eden” different from their other musical contemporaries, colleagues, and other descriptive, personable nouns beginning with “C” is that its strength lays firmly within its songwriting, which takes the now-potent combination of melody and intensity into cognizant and capable hands and ears. Rather than a modern-like approach that leaves a slightly sour taste in one’s mouth, the synthetics, vocals, and guitar leads follow a more olden-timey, forest-dwelling feel that’s pretty hard to explain; it’s in its very atmosphere, the ambience that flows from CD to headphones (or speakers depending on your persuasion) that lends itself into a fine example of escapist music meant to be taken very seriously.

A good sense of drama is in play with this particular disc; far from being merely heavy or symphonic, the feel of “End of Eden” is a gripping affair, requiring more than one listen to take in properly. Taking many cues from the previously-good Nightwish, Amberian Dawn combine their raging metal riffs, speedy-yet-tasteful leads/solos, neoclassically-twinged synth lines and strong opera vocals into tightly packaged odes to ages-old fantasy that does its job, does it well, and leaves before their welcome is potentially worn out. But the way they do it drips with utmost professionalism, both in composition and performance, and coming at us at a time in which metal music as a whole needs such a thing the most, and all throughout their latest I was pretty spellbound, not giving attention to anything outside the album itself. Such is one of the best ways for an album to maintain staying power with me, as the potency of tracks like “Come Now Follow”, “Ghostly Echoes” and “Sampo” are able to do with the greatest of ease.

So at the end of the day, Amberian Dawn give us a great example of properly done Finnish sympho-femmetal (…”symphemmetal”?) that has the capacity to overtake the previously mentioned vacant throne that so many Euro-ladies are clambering over themselves to leap upon. As they’re still a relatively young band, they still have the time needed to evolve properly, if they are able to not stray from their current path. In short? Good for what ails ya musically. Get it, and enjoy.

by doomknocker

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Amberian Dawn Discography (2008-2012)

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Amberian Dawn has been one of the most promising power metal bands of its time. Albums such as "The Clouds of Northland Thunder" and "River Touni" are a huge step in the genre, but lately they seem to have lost track of their true abilities with the album "End of Eden" and this record "Circus Black".

This record is completely unnecessary and unworthy of the potential they possess, it sounds very corny and unoriginal. Corrupted by the touch of a greater band, "Startovarius". this evil touch has been demonstrated in songs such as "Cold Kiss" with the appearance of Startovarius's vocal "Timo Kotipelto".

Another effect takes place in "Crimson Flower" and the keyboardist of Startovarius "Jens Johansson". And finally with the instrumental "Rivalry Between Good and Evil". which sounds a lot like many similar instrumentals done by Startovarius.

All these influences are completely inapropriate and unnecessary for Amberian Dawn. When you listen to their first 2 albums you realize that they found their own way and such influence would only destroy their name and originality, and makes the band sound like a bunch of armatures.

Beside the bad Startovarius-ish influence, the band managed to offer some good moments in the album. songs such as "Fight" and "Letter".Along other neoclassical elements and guitar and keyboard solos. but they are still boring and unworthy of their golden past.

What may annoy you more than anything is Heidi's vocals, they sound completely worn out as if she's too tired and bored to sing. They try to dress it up with the choruses, but it's still very obvious, seems she somehow lost her energy and motivation. She shines in some songs such as "Cold Kiss" but that was ruined by Timo's "Trolling" appearance. Also the song "Letter" brings back some of her old glory, but it's just not enough.

All in all, the album isn't all that terrible, but it could have been better, much better. The band has so much potential at hand, but they could use some time to figure out what they really are capable of.

by Imperialtroll