Cain's Offering - Gather The Faithful review
| Band: | Cain's Offering |
| Album: | Gather The Faithful |
| Style: | Power metal |
| Release date: | July 2009 |
01. My Queen Of Winter
02. More Than Friends
03. Oceans Of Regret
04. Gather The Faithful
05. Into The Blue
06. Dawn Of Solace
07. Thorn In My Side
08. Morpheus In A Masquerade
09. Stolen Waters
10. Tale Untold [Japanese bonus]
11. Elegantly Broken
Gather The Faithful is power metal at it's most accessible. It's fairly (not to say very) easy on the ears, it's the kind of album that you give someone to listen to when you wish to convert that person into a metal fan. What I've just stated should not be mistaken for criticism. The debut album of Cain's Offering is filled with great melodies, awesome power metal riffs and the music is simply catchy as hell. This is a good album.
The production is certainly excellent, if just a tiny bit too polished and the overall performance of the band is very good too. Probably the most surprising thing about the performance is how well the songs suit Kotipelto's voice. I've never been a big fan of Stratovarius or Kotipelto (say sorry), but I cannot imagine anyone singing "Oceans Of Regret" better than him, even Tony Kakko. Jani has a few fast enjoyable solos, though in all honesty they don't approach the glory of his solos on the early albums of Sonata Arctica.
Ultimately what makes the album worth your money, is the excellent songwriting. Some parts of Gather The Faithful are almost overflowing with creativity, pulsating with true inspired creation. It sounds like Jani had almost too many ideas when writing the music for "Oceans Of Regret" and "Morpheus In A Masquerade", especially the former. One melody is chasing another, one riff barely escapes the wrath of the next one as it comes crashing in, it's just awesome. The lyrics are mostly concerned with love, loss and angst, but they work rather well. I am forced to mention "Oceans Of Regret" once again, but it really is the best track on the album, lyrically as well as musically. Rarely does a song capture the feeling of being used, abused and abandoned so well as this one. Great art is always inspired by great sadness and/or great happiness and Jani has mastered the craft of translating powerful emotions into music very well. However, it's not all good, which is why the overall rating isn't higher. The album closes with a ballad that's way too similar to Taylor Dayne's song "Tell It To My Heart". Also, while the music is good, it doesn't break any new ground. There's nothing at all original about Gather The Faithful.
In the end, it's very easy to recommend this album not just to fans of Sonata Arctica and Stratovarius, but to all fans of Scandinavian power metal. If you belong to any of the aforementioned groups, then I believe Gather The Faithful has earned it's place in your collection.
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 9 |
| Songwriting: | 8 |
| Originality: | 3 |
| Production: | 9 |
Guest review disclaimer:
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
Comments
| Milena gloom cookie Posts: 4603 From: Norway  |
Yeah, the album is kinda cool, but I expected more for Jani, his standards in writing music (remember those cool songs he wrote for Altaria on Divinity, or My Selene which he wrote for Sonata Arctica?) are much higher. The two songs you've mentioned are above the rest of the album  also, I don't really like Kotipelto singing on the album, he has a rather cold voice and the songs might need a warmer one. But, as I've said before, a cool album when you're running out of good power metal to listen to. And your review is well written, good job 
---- 7.0 means the album is good
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| ErnilEnNaur Account deleted |
ErnilEnNaur
Account deleted Written by Milena on 12.02.2011 at 19:04 Thank You! I love My Selene, but I think Jani outdid himself with Oceans Of Regret. I just wish he would've included an epic solo in that one, instead of two very short solos. I'm glad we agree that the album's decent, though I think it's more great than decent 
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| Milena gloom cookie Posts: 4603 From: Norway |
Oh, I also think the album is more than decent, I just haven't phrased my thoughts right. The thing is, I don't really like classic power metal, I like my metal to have a little more depth. Of course, I sometimes listen to the cheesy stuff but get bored with it very soon, and this one didn't bore me a bit I can't wait to see what Jani has to offer to us next
---- 7.0 means the album is good
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