Days of Rising Doom

I have said in the past that I do not care if a metal band hasn't really done anything new. If a band can apply an established formula with great success, there is no reason why we should hold it against them for not doing anything new.

That being said, Aina (or Days of Rising Doom, this is the only Aina album) is a piece of shit. Regardless of the fact that it has its own language, regardless of the gaggle of singers, regardless of the "epic" song titles, it's a boring, contrived, phony piece of shit. Now, I don't hold it against Somerville for ripping off the "metal opera" concept (Avantasia weren't the first either; that award goes to Savatage), nor do I hold it against her for filling up an album with forgettable power metal songs that either are slow ballad-y types or the usual "doo doo tsch doo doo doo tsch doo doo doo tsch" drumbeat. What I do hate about this album is that each and every one of the songs is contrived and pre-processed from the very beginning to the very end, and the only songs that stand out are the ones that are so shitty that they are memorable for only being ridiculously shitty. Silver Maiden is one of these; I believe I blasted Savatage's Dead Winter Dead for having a couple songs like these. However, the difference is that Silver Maiden is poncey, sentimental, and utterly disney to the point of uncontrollable regurgitation. Dead Winter Dead had a couple of poncey songs, but they were still listenable.

There are a couple other songs that stand out for similar reasons, but I don't care to name them due to the pain of having to reintroduce this horrid CD into my CD player. Don't believe me? Torrent this (because god forbid anybody spend their hard earned spondulicks on this abomination) and listen. There is a painful trend in power metal today, and that is turning power metal into powerless non-metal. I know, it's a total 180 reversal, but there are many power metal bands who seem content to make complete radio friendly powerless anthems in stead of real POWER METAL. And Aina is one of them; do not be fooled by the epic songtitles, the gaggle of extra singers, or the invented language, for this is pure radio friendly powerless "metal." Pre-programmed to be fit for consumption by the legions of mindless teenagers, pre-written to not offend any record executives, and totally lacking in any power and conviction, Aina is an oxymoron within the world of power metal.

Oh, and Amanda Somerville completely fucked up the songs she sang for in The Scarecrow. They sucked anyway, but she is not a metal singer, and never will be.