The Dark Element - Debut Album Out Now (Anette Olzen and Jani Liimatainen)

[gazinwales]

It's been mentioned a fair bit in the Nightwish thread, but with the debut album now out, I figured a dedicated thread might be in order.

The band's line up is;
Anette Olzon - Lead Vocals (ex Nightwish and Alyson Avenue)
Jani Liimatainen - Guitars, Keyboards, Programming (Ex Sonata Arctica and Cain's Offering)
Jonas Kuhlberg - Bass (Cain's Offering)
Jani "Hurtsi" Hurula - Drums (Cain's Offering)

I said band, it started as a project, but last night Anette mentioned in her live Facebook chat that they are looking at some live dates next year and possibly another album.

Five video's from the debut album are out officially;
The Ghost and the Reaper https://youtu.be/SZsuGtv3-co
My Sweet Mystery https://youtu.be/ZKd6GfzpvdY
Here's To You https://youtu.be/ogcFCxaSvAA
The Dark Element https://youtu.be/8tHdSv9TmdI
Dead To Me https://youtu.be/eidS1nyQB50

[Zook]

I just picked it up a little while ago. Someone You Used to Know isn't that great a song, but everything else is great. I've always liked Anette's voice.

[Evermind]

This album is on my list to check out. I liked My Sweet Mystery, and I think the two Anette-fronted Nightwish albums are pretty great. Also good to see Jani on guitars, I'm really curious about this record.

[cramx3]

Digging the album, nice catchy tunes.  Didn't realize we had a thread for this band. 

[Lowdz]

The name of the band would suggest the music would be “dark” but it’s very upbeat. I couldn’t get into it.  I love Annette’s voice though.

[bosk1]

I was falling squarely in the "okay, it's good, but...meh" category.  But I really dig Dead To Me. 

But I still do have one obstacle.  It is a really dumb one, but it's one that is hard for me to shake.  That is:  They are portraying themselves as a 4-piece, but there are TONS of layers and piped in instruments and effects.  I don't mind layers and things being piped in.  Not at all.  But somehow, it is different in my mind when the band is portraying themselves differently.  Take Nightwish or Epica, for example.  They have prominent keyboard players that are obviously playing the keyboard parts and all of the orchestration.  You also have a choir and the band members supplying background vocals.  That's all understood.  Here, you have a band basically portraying themselves visually as a 4 piece basic rock band, while the audio simultaneously makes it crystal clear that that is NOT what is going on.  It's just hard for me to digest when the audio and video have such a disconnect.  Does that make sense?

[Grappler]

Here, you have a band basically portraying themselves visually as a 4 piece basic rock band, while the audio simultaneously makes it crystal clear that that is NOT what is going on.  It's just hard for me to digest when the audio and video have such a disconnect.  Does that make sense?

It makes sense, but it doesn't distract me from enjoying it.  Sabaton used to have a full-time keyboard player.  But their singer writes the music, so he just plays those parts and then they get piped in when they play live, so there is no keyboard player on stage.

In Nightwish, I do not know if Tuomas or Jukka/Kai controls the orchestrations.  Judging by live videos, I think Tuomas is only playing keyboards live and not controlling the backing tracks.

So if you need a 5th person visible to complete the illusion of having someone there to play those parts, so be it.  But it doesn't bother me at all - a lot of bands use backing tracks, which saves money on having to pay someone else when those parts were written and recorded by a current band member.

As for this album, I think it's really kickass, and certain elements like the drumming really have come to life with repeated listens.

[bosk1]

Yeah, I'm not saying I'm "right."  In fact, I concede that my feeling on the subject is kind of illogical.  It's just hard to shake for me personally, so I'm trying to just explain why I feel the way I do.  It's kind of like the line for suspending belief in a sci-fi or fantasy movie.  To a point, even though you know what you are seeing isn't real, you can easily suspend belief and just enjoy it.  But for most of us, there is a line where, once it is crossed, it is much more difficult to suspend belief, and that can make it difficult to enjoy the product, even if the product is worthy of enjoyment.  That line can sometimes be really fuzzy.  But when something jars you and takes you personally out of the moment to where it is hard to suspend belief, you know it, even if you might not be able to clearly define it in the moment.  That's kind of the equivalent of what I am describing.  Here, the sheer amount of layering and effects vs. the complete disconnect in presentation gets close to the line for me and becomes an obstacle, even though it probably shouldn't.

[gazinwales]

TBH it hadn't even crossed my mind while watching the video's, it's a playback with the band performing, nothing more.
In fact thinking about it now, I would have an issue if they had put a random person in the video 'faking it for the camera's' on keyboards who hadn't played on the original song.
You have the 4 people who made the music in the studio in the video, end of story.
Live it might be different, but the band started as a one off studio project that might play live in the future, which is irrelevant right now.

[cramx3]

I don't think the added layers bother me as much as the idea they don't seem much like a real band per say.  As in, in the making of video, it appears they had never met before making the music video.  The record label kind of formed this band based on Jani's song writing it seems.  While none of that will stop my enjoyment of the music, I do kind of find that a bit odd although with technology these days, it isn't out of the norm for musical collaborations with people who don't really know each other.

[gazinwales]

Not quite, Jonas and Hurtsi are already in Jani's other band Cain's Offering, it was only Anette that hadn't met Jani until the video shoot.

[cramx3]

Not quite, Jonas and Hurtsi are already in Jani's other band Cain's Offering, it was only Anette that hadn't met Jani until the video shoot.

Yea not quite you are right, but doesn't really change the way it makes me feel about the band.  Like how do you know if there's chemistry?  How would life on the road work if you don't really know each other?  Which then leads to, what's the long term plan for the band?  Like I said before, doesn't change the enjoyment of the music.  Finally put the album on my phone so been giving some more listens today.  Definitely a fan of the music.

[gazinwales]

Oh I think there definite chemistry, Jani got out of Anette what TH couldn't do over two album working in the same studio.
I can only imagine if they can get together in the same studio and create another album, just how good it could be?

[cramx3]

True, just my skepticism as to how much I want to invest in a band as a fan.  Im really digging this album.  I think I'm on my 4th listen today (it's not that long so there's that). 

I would say this sound fits Annette much better than the general NW sound does.  Obviosuyl NW wrote songs that fit her well, but considering the more bombastic and older songs of NW, she fits better in this band than NW.  This album is just perfect for her voice and style.

[nattmorker]

After reading this thread I decided to check out the album. I'm really digging it, the songs sound perfect for Annette's voice, so much more than NW. The songs sounds upbeat & catchy, besides the whole album flows nicely, it feels short.

[gazinwales]

I take TDE for what it is, a great album and nothing more.
If anything else comes of it, then it's a bonus.

BTW Dark Passion Play was written and demoed with Marco on vocals before Anette joined.
I think almost half the album's demo's have been officially released on various singles and 'special/limited' album editions.

[Zook]

This album would be perfect if not for Someone You Used to Know.

[gazinwales]

I like all the songs, including Someone, I really think I am going to end up liking this a lot more than the last Nightwish album. 

[cramx3]

Really really love this album, have had a hard time putting it down since getting it.  However, there's one thing holding this album back from being really awesome, and that's the lyrical content.  Seems every single song is a bitter heart broken song.  It kind of gets tiring hearing the same lyrical theme in each song which I guess one could say is "The Dark Element" that bitter feeling inside from break up, but it's depressing to listen to such lyrics consistently on what is otherwise a really awesome super catchy album.  Sure it sounds Nightwishy (there's a couple songs straight up from NW) but there is a seperate sound to this band that isn't NW.  Anyway, here are my song rankings from best to worst:

Last Good Day
I Cannot Raise the Dead
The Dark Element
Here's to You
The Ghost and the Reaper
My Sweet Mystery
Halo

------ the above songs are REALLY REALLY strong IMO, the bottom aren't bad songs at all, but there's a distinction between those top and those songs can interchange but these bottom three are likely to stay down there:

Only One Who Knows Me
Dead to Me
Heaven of Your Heart
Someone You Used to Know

[gazinwales]

While I agree to some extent that the lyrics are the weak point and every song about the same subject does get tiring, but 'your hanging on you're cross and I am banging in the nails' is a great line that I love.
No weak songs for me, and Dead To Me is my fave, but the also did an acoustic version of the same song as the Japan only bonus track which is killer.

[Grappler]

While I agree to some extent that the lyrics are the weak point and every song about the same subject does get tiring, but 'your hanging on you're cross and I am banging in the nails' is a great line that I love.
No weak songs for me, and Dead To Me is my fave, but the also did an acoustic version of the same song as the Japan only bonus track which is killer.

I love that line.  I gave the album a break for a few weeks then came back to it a week ago and it's still kicking my ass.  I find little things here and there that I totally love - the drumming, the big chugging riff under the chorus to My Sweet Mystery, etc. 

Just saw that they'll be playing some live shows in Europe next year, which is pretty cool.  They'll probably sound pretty massive in a live setting.

[Ninjabait]

Just gave this a spin not too long ago. Symphonic Metal can be a bit hit or miss for me sometimes, but I liked the album. It sounded a bit Nightwish-y at times, but the album fits Anette Olzen's voice better than NW did imo. She's really the shining player on the album. Some very nice vocal melodies, and the subtle early 2010s pop influences were a cool addition and sounded pretty good. Only track I actively disliked was Heaven of Your Heart. I can dig some ballads, but that's my least favorite performance from Olzen (mainly because of her vibrato on this song) on the album and it's a bit musically sappy at times. Don't really pay much attention to lyrics, but I can see where everyone's coming from with the complaints about it being lyrically monotonous in terms of subject matter.

Not Top 10 for the year by any means, but it's a decent album and I don't feel like I've wasted my time by listening to it. Fine stuff.