Label: Massacre Records
Review by Tony Cannella
The German symphonic power metal band Arven first came on the metal radar in 2008 with their self-titled demo – and this hinted at great promise. In 2011 the band pushed it up a notch with their full-length debut “Music of Light”. Now the band returns with album number 3, “Black is the Colour”.
On “Black is the Colour” Arven continues to combine elements of symphonic power metal and the inclusion of violin on a few songs gives it an added folk element. Getting started… the powerhouse duo of “Believe” and “Don’t Look Back” are simply huge – majestically so. “Rainsong” is next and begins as a ballad before evolving into a mid-tempo track featuring some cool orchestration. Lead vocalist Carina Hanselmann provides her soprano style throughout the CD. Next we have “The One For Me”. This is a very powerful, intense track. Here Carina is joined by Van Canto vocalist Stefan Schmidt to provide an excellent duet. The metal continues to flow fast and furiously on the tracks “My Darkest Dream”, “Fireside Stories” and “My Fall”.
Will the third time be the charm on their new album “Black is the Colour”? It will be up to the music buying public at large to decide, but after checking out “Black is the Colour”, I have to say that Arven has a great future ahead of them.
Rating – 83/100
Tracklist
- Believe
- Don’t Look Back
- Rainsong
- The One For Me (feat. Stefan Schmidt of Van Canto)
- All I Got
- My Darkest Dream
- Cercle d’emeraude
- In Your Dreams
- Fireside Stories
- My Fall
Line Up
- Carina Hanselmann – Vocals
- Anastasia Schmidt – Guitars
- Ines Thomé – Guitar
- Lisa Marie Geiß – Bass
- Lena Yatsula – Piano
- Till Felden – Drums