Band:	Sunrise
Album:	Absolute Clarity
Style:	Power metal
Release date:	January 19, 2016
A review by:	Belegûr

01. Tower Of Fear
02. Star Ocean
03. Live In Peace
04. Prayer For You
05. Reality Of Dreams
06. What You Have Done
07. When Here Comes The Night
08. The Angel
09. Hope And Pray
10. Thunder In The Distance

There's not an awful lot to discuss when it comes to Absolute Clarity, the latest release from Ukrainian band Sunrise. This is fast and melodic metal heavily inspired by the likes of Sonata Arctica and Stratovarius. Many bands take influence from two of the biggest acts in the genre, but few manage to do it with this much precision.

I'll try and get the comparisons out of the way early on. If you are a fan of Sonata Arctica and miss the days when it wasn't just about vocalist Tony Kakko crooning and being the most emotional man in Finland, then you can probably stop reading here and just pick up Absolute Clarity. From the keyboard intro of "The Angel", to the "Whoa-oh-oh-oh" vocals of "When Here Comes The Night" and the chorus of "Tower Of Fear", I'd be insulting your intelligence if I didn't say it sounded like a tribute to Sonata Arctica. So obviously originality is lacking here, but Sunrise do manage to create some enjoyable power metal tunes and it's a style of melodic metal that is itself really easy to enjoy; explosive choruses with keyboards sweeping and double bass drums firing away. So does it matter that much when songs like "Hope And Pray" just sound like what would have happened if Tony Kakko joined Stratovarius a decade or two ago?

What you don't get though are truly great power metal tracks. Being heavily influenced by some top bands in the genre isn't rare, but most of what you write usually ends up paling in comparison. Yes, Absolute Clarity is ridiculously catchy and is fun to listen to, but it made me want to go and listen to the bands it's copying. Most tracks here are just above average power metal tracks, with only the likes of "Tower Of Fear", "What Have You Done" and "Star Ocean" standing out more than the other tracks. These songs just have some moments where the vocalist tries a little bit harder and Sunrise show a bit of their own style. It's unfortunate that these moments are often overshadowed by the keyboards which just sound far too loud in the mix and even drown out some guitar solos.

There's one particular part of the album that I just have to bring up. At the end of "What Have You Done" we have this excellent "Whoa-oh-oh-oh" part that just works extremely well, but when the next song begins, "When Here Comes The Night" (what does that mean?), it starts with another "Whoa-oh-oh-oh" bit that sounds remarkably similar to the melody of the last track. The chorus of "When Here Comes The Night" then sounds like the outro of the previous track. It was confusing and I don't even think it was intentional. It seemed like all the ideas had been lost by that point and it wouldn't surprise me as the last 3rd of the album is a bit of a chore to get through.

So instead of moaning about Sonata Arctica changing their style, just pick up Absolute Clarity and enjoy. It has its problems, notably a few boring tracks at the end and obnoxiously loud keyboards, but it also has its moments and is enjoyable for the most part.