Dark Sarah - Grim (2020)

Always delivering quite lush and engaging Symphonic/Gothic Metal releases, today we have Dark Sarah and their latest opus “Grim”. With a cinematic vibe and always featuring very interesting fantasy-filled story-lines, this release unleashes 55 minutes of majestic music filled with dream-like atmospheres and the signature vocals of Heidi Parviainen. This release is a must-have for all fans of bands like Visions of Atlantis, Delain, Nightwish, etc.

Setting the stage with the mystical “My Name Is Luna”, the band gets fully warmed up with the bombastic opening of “The Chosen One”. Pairing dramatic lead vocals with heavy guitars and explosive drumming is a formula that works wonders for the band as songs like “Illuminate” and “Melancholia” deliver waves of catchy passages and the perfect balance of heavy and lush that we love from this band. For those looking for the power-ballads, “Iceheart” is a very nice mellow song that changes the pace of this release.

One of our favorite songs is the elegant “La Folie Verte”, and its playful vocal arrangements. Featuring JP Leppäluoto of Charon fame on “The Wolf And The Maiden”, we get a very nice and dynamic duet that shakes things up a bit and showcases the band’s versatility. We also have “Mörk” a different duet with Jasse Jatala which has a faster pace and at times gives us a Power Metal vibe. We are suckers for guest appearances, and while not too extensive, the band manages to leverage them to change the pace of things and showcase different sides to them.

Featuring plenty of songs with different paces and styles, tracks like “The Devil’s Peak” and “The Dark Throne” demonstrate that this album is far from linear. As a whole, “Grim” is another brilliant notch on Dark Sarah’s career. With every release the band keeps getting more explosive and more bombastic than before, showing their growth and infinite creativity. If you are a fan of the genre, you can’t afford to miss out on this release.

Label: Napalm Records

Release: July 17th, 2020

Genre: Symphonic/Gothic Metal

Country: Finland