Norwegian singer-songwriter 'Andreas Nergård' returns with a new concept album 'Eternal White' which is the third album under the name 'Nergard', 'A Bit Closer to Heaven' being the last studio recording released in 2015. This latest baby is a melodic metal opera with all the ingredients together for this kind of production but this time limiting the line up to two main singers since they are the Irish 'Stefani Keogh' (who has a youtube page with covers here, and the Norwegian 'Mathias Molund Indergård' (singer of 'Mindtech'), 'Andi Kravljaca' who is also guitarist and keyboardist being adding to the vocal duo. 'Eternal White' is a concept album telling the story of 'The death march of the Caroleans' in 1719 which saw the deaths of 3,000 Swedish and Finnish soldiers during the failed attempt to invade Norway.
'God Forgive My Haunted Mind' starts the album in an epic and symphonic atmosphere that we will find throughout the 10 compositions with an orchestration and vocal arrangements worthy of the best songs from 'Epica' and we let ourselves be embarked very quickly in a heady melody on a very catchy tempo with instrumental parts alternating calm and powerful passages. This beautiful impression is confirmed with 'Pride of the North' with a new melody that we immediately appropriate, the trio of singers bringing additional richness, then, the introduction of 'From the Cradle to the Grave' makes us go back to the beginning of 'Nightwish' with grandiose choirs and, in this title, 'Stefani Keogh' is very close to a lyrical register and forms a very beautiful duet with 'Mathias Molund Indergård' especially as the catchy melody quickly becomes addictive. The first break comes with 'Carry Me' which is a slow mid-tempo with a remarkable guitar solo from 'Andi Kravljaca' (which I would have liked a little longer), then the energetic 'Beneath Northern Skies' demonstrates again, if it was still necessary, the talent of melodist of 'Andreas Nergård' with a new composition which should be all the rage in concert and which is typical of the symphonic metal of the 90s with great reinforcement of orchestral arrangements on the keyboards. With 'Where No One Would Shed a Tear', we start the second part of the album with a faster rhythm, leading the singers to harden their interpretation and which again puts Andi's frenzied guitar solo forward for a short time. 'Kravljaca', then,' Downfall 'continues in an epic and theatrical atmosphere and can make one think of certain atmospheres of 'Kamelot' and 'Now Barely Three' continues in this symphonic ambiance with grandiose choirs closeto 'Nightwish' and the interventions of the growls of 'Tim "Ripper" Owens'. Follows the eponymous mid-tempo of the album which has an addictive new chorus and which is accompanied vocally and instrumentally in a remarkable way by 'Andi Kravljaca', then, the album ends with the longest composition of the album, 'Erasing the Memories' which ends up conquering us entirely and which is a magnificent ballad filled with a palpable emotion. Note that the Spotify version offers the full instrumental of the album which, personally, did not seem essential to me, the vocal arrangements bringing so much more richness and listening pleasure.
In summary, by refocusing on a limited line-up, 'Andreas Nergård' offers us a remarkable symphonic metal opera from the first to the last title and which has nothing to envy to projects of this style, I think especially at 'Avantasia' of 'Tobias Sammet', and it's a safe bet that 'Eternal White' will become an essential album for all lovers of power metal and symphonic metal... | |
