MARKO HIETALA
Pyre Of The Black Heart NUCLEAR BLAST
Nightwish bassist lets out his proggy side NIGHTWISH’S MARKO HIETALA,
the man with the sort of blond tresses that most Reality TV C-listers would give a left fingernail for, is releasing his first solo album. Exploring and indulging in the soundtrack of his upbringing, thanks to his father’s sprawling record collection spanning Irish folk songs to Elvis, Pyre Of The Black Heart is, in his own words, “hard prog”. It’s a world away from his snarling role in Nightwish epics like The Phantom Of The Opera and Wish I Had An Angel and the metal-worshipping riffage of his other band, Tarot. This might throw off some hardened fans of bombast but the point of a solo album is not to sound like the bands that made the artist famous but to celebrate the artist that helped to elevate those bands.
Recorded under his birthname, Marko Hietala (that’s Marko with a ‘k’), Pyre Of The Black Heart is a diverse and pastoral record. Opener Stones paints a vivid picture of Ronnie James Dio-esque storytelling with Dio guitars to match. This is followed by The Voice Of My Father, which leans on classic rock balladry to accomplish a rousing stadium vibe. It’s only when Star, Sand And Shadow begins that the real prog elements emerge, meshing chuggy guitars with synth. It’s from that state that For You
plays out, using space-age synth to add atmosphere to Marko’s versatile and expressive vocals. By contrast, the latter half of Pyre Of The Black Heart is a quirky medley of rocking folk on tracks like Runner Of The Railways and bass-heavy proggy classic rock, exemplified by Death March For Freedom.
That Marko Hietala started writing some of these songs 15 years ago speaks volumes about his personal investment in the music and lyrics but it’s his voice that really gives his album an extra dimension. As one of the metal scene’s most underrated vocalists – unsurprising considering his main day job – his potency and range is a masterful exercise in vocal expression.
FOR FANS OF: Dio, Ayreon, Devin Townsend ■■■■■■■■■■
HOLLY WRIGHT