aiylyn
What SHOULD be on the radio,
This is one of those CDs that makes me depressed...when I see it in a used shop. I always stop and wonder, why didn't it sit with the original buyer? Why didn't he or she like it? Because I think - and this is coming from someone who has never heard the other Nightingale material - that this album is perfect. Dan Swano has to be one of the most profilic musicians in Sweden; he definitely shows wide variety in music since he can reconcile Bloodbath with this. When I first listened to this, the thing that jumped out at me most immediately - and this is a rare occurence - was the singing. Most bands, you catch on to the guitar, or the drumming, or the keyboards, but with this band, it was the singing that did it. Swano's low-pitched, mellow, expressive tenor voice is addictive in a good way. He never shouts or screams but takes you on a gentle ride through the land of rock that is at once full of depth and meaning but is also catchy and easy to sing along to (which is a surefire winner in my book!). All of the songs here contain at least one hook that should grab the listener (that's why I mentioned radio in the subject line) but it is plainly obvious that a lot of brainpower went into the construction.
This should have appeal to old-school progressive rock fans and metal fans who want the occasional breath of fresh air from all the hard and heavy stuff.