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Arion: Vultures Die Alone
 Three years since the release of their well-received sophomore record Life is Not Beautiful, Finland's Symphonic Power Metal rangers Arion arise from the ashes with their third ambitiously forward album Vultures Die Alone; escorting a modern touch into the mixture whilst trying to keep the Traditional Power Metal stamp alive in the meantime.
Predominantly, I feel that Arion as a whole unit does create some solid lines for trackwork here, however as a Power Metal outing I think this widely misses the mark and it aimlessly wanders too far from the desired product that leads it to venture into a different zone that for me becomes a little bit too generically structured and a tad on the plain side; evidently witnessed on tracks like the samey-stylised safe musical links of 'Break My Chains' and the mediocre pathways on 'I'm Here for You', that for me can be both placed on a Bullet For My Valentine album rather than on one of this particular genre in question.
But on the other hand, there are some real stormers on offer here that are laying amongst the masses, like the insanely intense titanic Thrash monster 'I Love to be Your Enemy' that has a dribbling flood of a Destruction vibe written all over it, the superbly constructed walls of the heated passages of 'Bloodline' that contains the fantastic vocal talents of Battle Beast's Noora Louhimo, and additionally the alluring quality of the video single for the band's contemporary effort relentlessly expressed as the modernised Melodic Metal anthemic hypnotiser 'In the Name of Love'; featuring the euphonious angelic vocals of Finnish vocalist Susanna Alexandra and this is distributed with a bombastic punch to keep a degree of interest.
On this occasion, Arion keep things very tasteful indeed on Vultures Die Alone and they do convincingly conjure up an interesting bundle of songs in the ultimate essence of things, nonetheless I still feel the boisterous Finns are definitely way more capable of so much more and as a strong elite for me they could do a lot more musically on paper, considering the talent they have lodged in their majestic and triumphant midst that consistently dwells within their solidified five-piece unit.
Moreover, if they tried just that tad bit harder to be increasingly adventurous and take more risks, they could easily push the boundaries even further and achieve even more success. Overall, I am totally sure and damn right convinced that Arion will find a way to climb their way right up the ladder in just a short space of time - in fact I have no doubt about that at all and there will doing incredibly well in the near future.
Track list:
- Out of My Life
- Break My Chains
- Bloodline
- I’m Here to Save You
- In the Name of Love
- A Vulture Dies Alone
- I Love to be Your Enemy
- Where the Ocean Greets the Sky
- I Don’t Fear You
- Until Eternity Ends
Added: October 11th 2021
Reviewer: James Mannion
Score: 
Related Link: Band Facebook Page
Hits: 939
Language: english
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Arion: Vultures Die Alone
Posted by Brandon Miles, SoT Staff Writer on 2021-10-11 19:03:55
My Score: 
My first exposure to Arion (and I'd wager most people's for that matter) was their 2018 collaboration with Elize Ryd of Amaranthe fame on "At The Break of Dawn" off of their album Life is Not Beautiful. That song is, as the kids say these days, a total banger. Featuring dueling male and female vocals and a pristine, shimmering chorus; it had me eager to check out the album in full. It wasn't anything earth shattering, but it was certainly solid and a worthy listen if you are into the symphonic/melodic metal scene. When their newest release Vultures Die Alone popped up into my review queue I was super excited to see how these Finnish youngsters may have evolved and honed their craft in the years since LiNB was released. I'm always excited to see a new, young, and hungry act carry the flag for this style of music, as it were. Holy moly, was my excitement rewarded.
Arion seem to be classified as "Symphonic Power Metal" by most outlets, and I suppose that's fair, but that in and of itself isn't terribly descriptive in this case. Think more along the Finnish/Scandinavian lines of the genre, with synths and driving riffs featuring detuned/7 string guitars and big AOR-influenced choruses as opposed to the grandiose and film score like Italian variant. That should surprise absolutely nobody, because these guys are Finnish afterall, but what I'd say is somewhat surprising is the underlying dark themes and moodiness that permeates Vultures Die Alone. As is tradition thanks to genremates Stratovarius, Arion are a 5 piece featuring vocals, bass, drum, guitars, and keys. As there's only one guitarist, there's very little in the way of soaring guitar harmonies and the more aggressive riffage and accompanying keyboards tend to approach things in a gloomier, more introspective fashion. I dig it. Also, vocalist Lassi Vaaranen has a raspier snarl and delivery than you're probably accustomed to when it comes to power metal. It's an edgier, and more intense record than you may be expecting. Not to say the usual suspects won't still find it to be a hyper melodic cheese-fest, but those of us that know better will be able to find leagues of difference in this and say, early Sonata Arctica (which I also love).
What we're looking at here with Vultures Die Alone is an album with 10 tracks of highly digestible length but with considerable variety and a lot of surprising performances from the Arion boys and friends. Aside from the wonderful vocal performance of Vaaranen (and his 6 or so disparate vocal personas) there's the chunky riffs and soaring guitar solos of Iivo Kaipainen, who also shows off his chops as primary songwriter. Something must be going around with these younger bands in this scene, because it seems like the trend is to deliver a heavier, more guitar oriented sound these days, and it's a pretty welcome change. This thick heavy sound is of course complimented by soaring choruses and melodies in each track, usually with wonderful keyboard accompaniments that still will scratch any itch you may have for the power metal of old whilst you headbang and raise your fist.
Vultures comes out of the gate fast and furious, with a trio of absolute barn burners and fist pumpers. "Out of my life" with it's percussive riffing and raspy snarls is an album opener tour-de-force. "Break my Chains" sees more emphasis on the symphonic aspects of the band, and features a chorus to die for with an absolutely stellar vocal performance and solo break. Obvious single choice "Bloodline" continues the symphonic trend found in the previous track and also features a guest vocal performance from Battle Beast frontwoman Noora Louhimo. It's not as catchy or well written (and I prefer Elize's vocals, too) as their breakout track from 2018, but it's still really well done and to be honest Noora's vocal delivery is more appropriate for Arion's darker sensibilities. 3 for 3 so far.
"I'm Here to Save You" dials back the grandiosity for a moment, replacing the symphonies and faux-choirs with a synth-led guitar barrage and kicks the pacing up a notch or two. More straight forward and radio ready perhaps, but still well done with it's quasi-thrash riffs and classy melodies. The first break in intensity comes with "In the Name of Love"; a semi-ballad of sorts. There's some great guest vocal work here as well, this time brought to us by Susanna Alexandra of rock band Cyan Kicks. Her vulnerable and feminine performance on this track is the real standout here, as it's an otherwise decent track that gets a jolt of electricity thanks to her pipes, particularly during the earworm chorus.
Title track (sorta kinda) "A Vulture Dies Alone" is when Arion begin to really flex their muscles in terms of guitar oriented crunch and heaviness. Thick and propulsive guitar riffs bounce around with thrashy drums effortlessly, and all the while there's plenty of melodic sensibility to be found. This leads into what is unquestionably the heaviest song on Vultures, "I Love to be Your Enemy". If it weren't for the standard issue melodic chorus on display, you'd almost swear this was Epica or something, minus the death growls. There's straight up death metal influenced riffage and drum batteries, and choirs bursting with demonic intent during peak moments. Killer stuff.
"Where the Ocean Greets the Sky" is the album's longest track, and also it's lone instrumental. Grandiose and epic, it's the perfect soundtrack to a journey over an unexplored planetary landscape. Absolutely majestic guitar work is featured and the accompanying female vocals during the song's climax is out of this world (tee hee). Somehow, the album's longest song manages to feel like it comes and goes in a flash, and is over way too soon. I'm not ashamed to say it gave me chills on first listen and is a highlight on an already incredibly strong album.
"I Don't Fear You" takes us right back into the band's preferred stomping grounds of speedy power metal riffing and radio ready choruses. Every album needs it's weakest track, and while certainly enjoyable and not a track I'd find myself skipping, this one does lack the standout performances found elsewhere on the album. Album closer and piano ballad "Until Eternity Ends" is gorgeous, with lush orchestrations and heartbreaking melodies. Once again, I must make note of the great vocal performance here, with Vaaranen's voice damn near cracking with emotion at times. Goosebumps again. Awesome.
This new wave of European power metal with pop influences is breathing a lot of life into the scene, and now with a band like Arion pumping in a fresh dose of heaviness and real-world topics into the mix it's a good time to be a fan of this style of music. Vultures Die Alone is a fantastic album, and one that will never bore you or have you rolling your eyes at the genre's usual pitfalls and cliches. And as someone who actually loves and values those cliches, having a young band around that separates themselves from the pack by delivering a weighty metallic heft while still excelling at what makes this music great is such a wonderful treat to these ears. It's melodic, dark, uplifting, hungry, and energetic; and you should listen to it now.
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