Band:	Cain's Offering
Album:	Stormcrow
Style:	Power metal
Release date:	April 29, 2015
A review by:	ScreamingSteelUS

01. Stormcrow
02. The Best Of Times
03. A Night To Forget
04. I Will Build You A Rome
05. Too Tired To Run
06. Constellation Of Tears
07. Antemortem
08. My Heart Beats For No One
09. I Am Legion
10. Rising Sun
11. On The Shore
12. Child Of The Wild [Japanese bonus]

This one falls a bit out of my purview. I've never had the heart to tell Sonata Arctica that I just don't get it, and only recently have I finally been able to stand Stratovarius; I knew almost nothing about this project when I volunteered to review it, and upon investigating the line-up of this apparent super-type-group, I dreaded the flouncy, sing-song tedium I expected to find. As it happens, Cain's Offering have really hit something worth paying attention to.

Now sporting the legendary Jens Johansson on keyboards and Jonas Kuhlberg of the late MyGrain on bass, Cain's Offering open their sophomore effort very strongly with the mellifluous title track, "Stormcrow." Over the successive series of tracks, they parade their talents for making music that is endearingly snappy without being sickly sweet or losing dramatic impact. If the past/concurrent credits of these collaborators have not tipped you off, Cain's Offering play exceedingly melodic power metal governed by highly-prominent keyboards and tinged by a slight hard-rockiness (as we have learned to expect from such Finnish power metal bands).

Timo Kotipelto's pleasant, soothing voice creates an almost hypnotic effect; even if I wanted to hate this, I'd have to first break the spell of his milky-white voice and force myself back into reality. But even the brilliantly dramatic "I Am Legion," an instrumental, holds my attention; the musicianship here is top-notch, as one might expect with such well-traveled players. The title track probably remains my favorite song on this album, but the powerful and driving "A Night To Forget" provides stiff competition, and "The Best Of Times" also throws its hat into the ring. It can at least be said that there are no obvious fillers or throwaway tracks; they all have something positive and tasteful to offer.

To reiterate the disclaimers, this recommendation comes from someone whose power metal tastes tend to fall on the heavier side of things; I don't typically go in for this kind of frivolously poncey stuff, but there's something strangely transfixing about Cain's Offering. Not only am I sufficiently impressed by them to give my whole-hearted recommendation for Stormcrow, but perhaps I will have to have another crack at the members' main projects.