Alright, so I've got the promo yesterday and managed to spin the album three times today while working. Be careful, slight spoilers below:
(beginning of spoilers)
I loved Silverthorn when it came out, and I still love it and spin it quite regularly; and after three listens to Haven I think it's weaker than Silverthorn. It's definitely darker and maybe heavier, like a mix between Poetry for the Poisoned and Silverthorn (whoever said the album is in the vein of The Black Halo is dead wrong, in my opinion). It has some great songs, some solid tracks, some mediocre tunes and even one or two numbers I want to skip already (for the record, I like every song on Silverthorn). My biggest problem with their previous album was the lack of good bridges, they mostly felt out of place with those weird vocal melodies and sometimes awkward vocal effects (like at 3:00 on Veil of Elysium lyric video, and that's not even a bridge. But you get the point, I hope.) Well, this didn't go away anywhere, most songs still have them, Insomnia is the good example.
I also don't agree that Tommy doesn't channeling Khan here at all, I think the amount of his Khan-ness is maybe a bit less than on Silverthorn. It's definitely not his SW singing except in a few sparse moments. In fact, if he was more melodic, though in a dark way, on Silverthorn, here his delivery is quite gritty sometimes, like he clenches his teeth in anger and singing. There are enough melodic parts as well though, and sometimes he softens his voice in an unexpected way (think Khan's delivery on So Long part of Poetry for the Poisoned song), which sounds quite great.
The other problem is the mix, though this may be the promo-files quality problem. In some heavier songs it's difficult to hear what Tommy is singing in the choruses due to quite loud instrumentation. Also, there are growls in two songs, which doesn't really help me enjoy them, though with Alissa White-Gluz I should've expected this, really. I really like how she sings one of the choruses clean, but the growls are just not for me.
Unexpectedly, my favourite song from the album so far isn't a ballad, because while both ballads on Haven are quite good, they're nowhere near the greatness of Sailorman's Hymn, Abandoned or Song for Jolee. My favourite song is actually the opener, Fallen Star. Great melodic power metal song with clean singing, great bridge and cool riffs. Also, Veil of Elysium is one of the better songs on the album, in my opinion.
Well, while I don't think the album lived up to my ridiculously high expectations, it could be the case I didn't give it enough chances for now. I'm going to spin it more times indeed, this could easily be a grower. So far my rankings would be:
The Black Halo > Epica > Karma > Silverthorn > The Fourth Legacy > Haven = Ghost Opera > Poetry for the Poisoned > the first three albums
(end of spoilers)
Topic: Kamelot (Read 156218 times)
