Dark Sarah - Attack of Orym

4.2

Rating

4.2/5

Flyctory.com Pros

Very characteristic sound
Great vocal lead
Nice blend between symphonic metal and pop

Flyctory.com Cons

Some similarities between the songs

Some metal from Scandinavia: the Finnish band Dark Sarah releases their fifth album Attack of Orym on 27th January 2023. After I recently reviewed the album Take a Chance by Heidi Parviainen’s former band Amberian Dawn, I now listened to the current band of the singer and share my thoughts with you.

Dark Sarah – About The Artists

Dark Sarah is a Finnish symphonic metal band. It has been founded by Heidi Parviainen, after she left Amberian Dawn in 2012. The band has released one EP (Violent Roses in 2014) and four studio albums so far. The latest release was Grim in 2020. Apart from Parvainen, the band consists of Sami Salonen, Erkka Korhonen (both guitar), Rude Rothsten (bass) and Thomas Tunkkari (drums). Since 2017, the band is also working with two vocalists. Juja-Pekka Leppäluoto is doing the male vocal part of the band.

Dark Sarah – Attack of Orym – Track by Track

The ten track album lasts 45 minutes.

1. Intro

You definitely cannot accuse Dark Sarah that they are doing fraudulent labeling. The Intro is an intro. 1:13 minutes. A bit of hymnic and majestic. Full stop.

2. Attack of Orym (feat. Mark Jansen)

For Attack of Orym, the Finnish metal band is pairing with Dutch Mark Jansen, member of Mayan. The first full song on the album presents a stomping and marching rhythm. Apart from that the focus is on Parviainen and her characteristic vocal performance, which overall leads to a nice symphonic and melodic signature.

3. Invincible (feat. Kasperi Heikkinen)

For the third song, Parviainen invited one of her former Amberian Dawn band mates, Kasperi Heikkinen. The first 15 seconds rather feel like an electro-pop album and remind me of some tracks of the Lordiversity by Lordi. However, the guitars are taking control of the song and drive the vibes of the song. Very good listen.

4. B.U.R.N.

B.U.R.N. is one of my most favorite tracks of the album. Yeah, I can’t deny, the sound of the track (especially the chorus) has a bit of a simple pop touch. But, hey, it is such a catching melody. Great work by the Finnish lady on the microphone and the band in general, who give the track a nice, versatile touch.

5. Warning Sign

Dark Sarah have chosen Warning Sign as one of their single releases. Indeed, the song again comes with the catching character, which I already liked while listening to B.U.R.N. The duet-style vocals at the end of the chorus with Heidi Parviainen and Juja-Pekka Leppäluoto give a great characteristic element. This is a warning sign: the song might stay in your mind for quite a while.

6. Goth Disco

The sixth track takes you on a very special dancefloor. Indeed, the Goth Disco starts with mysterious sounds, organ chords and a bit of a dark touch. Great work of the two vocalists again, when Leppäluoto takes over the role of the dark narrator in the bridge. Nice listen with a strong keyboard lead.

7. Delirium

The seventh track is named Delirium. There is a slight psychedelic touch in the backing vocals, but overall, it is a track, which is rather similar to the tracks before. The chorus is very pop-ish again. Is Parviainen the lost metal sister of the ABBA ladies? Delirium is suggesting it.

8. Piece Of My Heart

Attack of Orym keeps on the same style in the eighth song: the keyboards are dominating with melodies in the chorus, the verses are rather driven by the guys on the guitars. Thus, the five minute listen feels very entertaining and neither too rocking nor too melodic. Die-hard metalheads will likely feel that Dark Sarah is a bit too much on the synth-pop side.

9. Breaking Free

Breaking Free is a 5:18 minute song, which is working with similar elements like the songs before. Unfortunately, I feel that the tracks before were just better. However, that is rather a matter of taste than a proof of lower quality. Maybe you rather go for this one.

10. Hero and A Villain

The closing Hero and A Villain is a nice energetic track, which works with harder guitar chords and also experiments a bit more on the keys side. The chorus is another great catch, which finally leads to a very good finale.

Dark Sarah – Attack of Orym – Spotify

Here is the album on Spotify:

Dark Sarah – Attack of Orym – My View

Dark Sarah really did a good one in here. You have to mention that some songs feel a bit too similar, but overall, the Finnish band is defining their style and nicely follow it. This leads to a very characteristic sound – Attack of Orym simply feels and sounds like Dark Sarah. That’s definitely not bad at all.

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