You perhaps might be more familiar with Heidi Parviainen as the former vocalist for Amberian Dawn, however she is back with a new project entitled Dark Sarah and Behind The Black Veil is her debut album.
Behind The Black Veil has no shortage of powerful and substantial songs, with an early highlight being Memories Fall, which is mostly down to the striking and memorable chorus . It features one of those lines that will worm its way into your head before you even know what’s happening, and is a song you’ll want to give a few listens before moving on to the next one. Hunting The Dreamer is another strong inclusion, with the introduction gripping your interest and holding onto it as the it progresses. There’s a subtle urgency to the song, which helps to keep it all moving, and it’s definitely a track that deserves more than a passing glance.
A song that’s also worth a closer look is the final track of the album, A Grim Christmas Story. A reworked version of the traditional carol The Twelve Days Of Christmas with new lyrics, it’s a song that’s like Marmite – you’ll either love it or hate it!
However, it has to be said that Behind The Black Veil is very vocal-centric. This is a good thing in the sense that you can really see exactly how versatile and capable Heidi is as a singer, as some of the vocal lines will absolutely blow you away, but on the other hand because the album is driven by the vocals, the instrumentation isn’t as powerful as it perhaps could be in some parts due to most of the focus being directed to the vocals.
As a whole, Behind The Black Veil is a pretty great listen despite a few minor nuances with the balance between vocals and music, however regardless of this, it’s still an album you won’t want to miss.
7.5/10
