Independent Release/IVK Music Finland Ltd Distribution
Review by Tony Cannella
Finland’s Skyward are a female fronted band who specialize in classy, melodic metal. Their new release is titled “Chasing Horizon” and it is actually their second recorded output, following up their selftitled debut from 2005. The band are fronted by the strong, emotive operatic vocals of Sanna Åström, she really does have a powerful voice and it helps drive this fine second release from from one of Finland’s best up-and-coming bands. The fast paced opening number “Trust Your Demons” is the perfect way to set the mood as the band especially blaze through this one and the guitar solo is definitely one of the high points of this song. The next track “Skyward” slows things down a bit, it is still heavy, yet not as fast as the previous song. I really like the vocals of Sanna Åström throughout the whole CD. Her operatic style is nothing that hasn’t been heard before, but it compliments the music so beautifully, of course the first person that is going to come to mind is another Finnish vocalist Tarja Turunen. There are some similarities but Sanna‘s style and delivery is not as high and over-the-top as Tarja‘s and the music of Skyward is not as orchestral as Nightwish, there is more of straight-forward approach from Skyward. Probably my favorite song on the CD is the half-ballad “Sunset Song”, really a great number that exhibits plenty of emotion. There are plenty other strong moments throughout “Chasing Horizon” including the great title track the epic-like “Scarecrow” and “Watching the Stars” among others. With “Chasing Horizon”, Skyward has released a CD that includes 9-songs and 44-minutes worth of some high class, high caliber melodic metal. An excellent second offering from this ultra-talented band. There is really nothing I don’t like about this band. Maybe, musically and vocally they may not be every body’s cup-of-tea but fans of bands like, Nightwish and Epica – or if you are just into high quality, female fronted melodic metal – should give this band a listen.
Rating – 85/100
Tracklist
- Trust Your Demons
- Skyward
- Chasing Horizon
- Scarecrow
- Almost Real
- Game Over
- Watching the Stars
- Sunset Song
- Mercury
Line Up
- Sanna Åström – Vocals
- Ville Nummenpää – Guitar
- Antti Röksä – Guitar
- Pete Kaipainen – Bass
- Sakke Vaittinen – Drums
Links