Songs the Night Sings

Jani and Anette got off to a good start with their 2017 debut, a record that was quite obviously Jani’s attempt to fill the void for fans of Anette’s run in Nightwish. I had hopes the follow up would do for this project what ‘Stormcrow’ did for Cain’s Offering, but that’s not what happened. What we did get was a better version of the first album, more leveled-out and consistent, with a higher level of songwriting craft and Anette’s best ever vocal performance, so I can’t complain too loudly. Jani also brought Rolf Pilve into the fold, Strato’s current drummer and skin-blaster for Smackbound, who tread a similar path to this. Rolf keeps the double-bass on low but infuses these songs with a varied dynamic, with deft drops, creative fills, and more punch, which, along with the superior production, makes this more impressive right off the bat.

Song wise, this is a similar batch that switches between mid-paced Nightwish anthems, tender ballads, and songs that mix both with a progressive flair. Jani is improving as a songwriter, and each cut demonstrates this; even the lyrics are better, though he’s still no Wordsworth. ‘Not Your Monster’ kicks things off on a rapturous note, with a chorus that is worth the wait, even though you have no idea when it’s going to kick in. The title track has the greatest hook on the album, and is probably the best thing Jani’s written for this project, even though it’s not quite as catchy as ‘My Sweet Mystery’. ‘When It All Comes Down’ closes out a glorious opening trio, the most intricate track here with a chorus that grinds way the fuck down in a move I can only attribute to Rolf. Sounds killer, though. ‘To Whatever End’ might be Jani’s best ballad, with a moody streak that crops up in a number of other places, and the driving riff of ‘The Pallbearer Walks Alone’ is the closest The Dark Element have come to power metal territory, but it’s still very much a Nightwish-esque tune that is admittedly pimped up with a riff of that style. Elsewhere, they touch upon ‘Slow, Love, Slow’ with closer ‘If I Have To Go’, and ‘Get Out Of My Head’ is aptly titled, being infectious as hell, dumb as it is.

Jani doesn’t get to show off as much here, with the programmed keys taking way more than the lion’s share, but his riffs are more inventive within the pop-metal realm, and the songs go through more changes than before, so you don’t really need the solos to dazzle you with dexterity. I know most people just want this guy to play the shit he did back in Sonata Arctica, but that was a lot of years ago, and even ‘Stormcrow’ was more along the lines of this than, say, ‘Winterheart’s Guild’. Anette is the star of the show, as you can imagine, and I swear she has never sounded this good. Studio magic be damned; if she sang like this under Tuomas’s instruction, we might not have ‘Songs The Night Sings’ at all. Her highs are piercing as hell, and even her diction has improved. I’m not sure Kotipelto could’ve done half as well.

It remains to be seen how long this band will stick around, but it stands proud in the symphonic metal scene for at least sticking to its guns. Jani and Anette are a good team, and they take their working relationship to a better place here. It’s not a level up, per se, but they have more HP than before, and better songs to boot.