Hanging Garden : "the Garden'

After their 2017 album, this band from Finland added singer Riikka Hatakka. This is the first alum I have reviewed since she joined the band. What it has done is added a dimension to their sound I call the "beauty & the beast" dynamic. Most popularized by Nightwish, but bands like Theater of Tragedy and Luna Coil have been utilizing this co-ed approach for some time. It does allow for but a wider dynamic range, and opens the fan base to women, who might not find appeal in just the harsher metal vocals. On the other hand, it also draws parallels to the other bands who do this sort of thing. The first song finds them layering the vocals in a more creative way than their peers. An approach they also employ on "the Construct". But the catch then band seems to fall into is the good cop/ bad cop paradigm. A call and response that uses sugar and spice. This formula feels very 90s to me at this point. 

"the Song of Spring" is the first point where this formula feels like it has been re-heated too many times as tropes like piano parts recall too many bands to even list. To Riikka's credit she manages to make her verses interesting enough. When we get to the soaring chorus it is cashing in on metal clichés, but not a total deal breaker yet, but they need to show me a willingness to explore beyond this trope as the album progresses. On "the Fire at First Dawn" it finds the band staying at too safe of a middle ground, and not taking enough risks, which is what metal should be about. I get to more goth-tinged romantic notions of their sound smooth some of this out, but the metal part need to hit harder.

 They are marginally successful at his on "the Nightfall" but is it not what I consider heavy, even with the death metal vocals. Some of this just boils down to the crisp production which might make for a great prog album, but metal needs to be rawer and dense. The bass does come out better when this album is listened to through head phones that capture the full dynamic range. 'Stolen Fire" showcases the attention to detail the mix was given and the nuance captured in the vocals. There is a similar sonic dynamic employed on "the Journey" but the female vocals are this time given more of a spotlight. 

"the Fireside" has more of a driving rock feel, though melody is still very European. The male vocals have really improved. The growling is his dominant manner of expression, with spoken word utterances being prominent, but on a song like this you can hear where he can really sing now. There is a similar vibe with the more melodic but less compelling "the Resolute" that closes the album. This is one of the band's most mature and polished efforts, despite not being all that heavy, there is a need for bands that have a middle ground between rock and what metal has become so I will give this album a 9.