DARK SARAH – Attack Of Orym

After leaving Amberian Dawn in 2012, vocalist Heidi Parviainen created Dark Sarah. Since then, the band has released four concept albums and Attack Of Orym is the fifth, to be released in January 2023. Set in a fantasy world, this album is the second part of their new epic saga centered on the character Luna, not Dark Sarah herself (spoiler alert: as the character dies at the end of their third album).

The style of Dark Sarah could be described as a mix of Symphonic Metal with clear operatic vocals, EBM and dark Electronic Pop music. And here lies the whole problem with this album. While Metal is a genre that bears well with experimentation and fusion, one could wonder with legitimacy, if adding a few distorted guitars and double bass drums to any other kind of music are enough to qualify for the label “Metal.”

This Is Not Metal, This Is Goth Disco

No need to rack your brains over the answer to this question, Dark Sarah has already answered with the song “Goth Disco” on this album, a term that represents their music far better than any other label. If Metal was a ladder, Dark Sarah would barely reach the first rung. Now that you have been warned, that this does not qualify properly as Metal, you just need to know if you should listen to this album. Once again the answer is sadly simple: No, you should not.

Despite a good number of prestigious musicians lending their talent to this album, this is not enough to elevate it from its mediocrity. Right from the beginning, everything sounds unoriginal and tacky, like a bad imitation of other bands. The clear vocals lack charisma and sheer power: each time the voice reaches to higher notes it sounds strained and fragile, while other singers in Symphonic Metal would make it sounds effortless. The composition of songs follows old recipes but seems devoid of feelings. Choruses that desperately try to be catchy only manage to be annoying (“B.U.R.N” and “Delirium” are first among them). There might be some enjoyable moments here and there, but they are drowned in the rest of the music.

Final Thoughts

Perhaps if you are already a fan of Dark Sarah and their stories you will find some things to appreciate in this Attack Of Orym. Otherwise, just go on your own way. Too many sounds and influences are clashing with each other on this album. While Metal is a music genre relying on discordance, Dark Sarah has taken it both too far and not far enough. Not all paradoxes deserve to be solved.

Lineup

Heidi Parviainen – vocals
Sami-Petri Salonen – guitar
Henrik Airaksinen – keyboard
Rude Rothstén – bass
Thomas Tunkkari – drums

Tracklisting

1. Intro – Choose Your Weapons
2. Attack of Orym (feat. Mark Jansen)
3. Invincible (feat. Kasperi Heikkinen)
4. B.U.R.N
5. Warning Sing
6. Goth Disco
7. Delirium (feat. Kasperi Heikkinen)
8. Piece Of My Heart (feat. JP Leppäluoto)
9. Breaking Free
10. Hero and a Villain